Question
Pick a period in Western history OR a non-Western traditional society and write about the role of women in that period or society. You could, for example, examine the role of women in ancient Greek society, Roman society, medieval society, and/or in American society in antebellum South or in the industrial North before the Civil War. Or you could examine the role of women in traditional Arabic tribal society, African society, Latin American tribal society, Inuit culture, and so forth. (You can research any one of these topics through the library or by utilizing good online resources; this is a mini research project.) You can focus on one or more than one society, depending on your own interest in the research.
Sample Answer
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Role of Women in Roman Society
In the Roman society, women’s daily life and activities were defined by the men in their lives and women were mostly valued as mothers and wives (Gregory, 2018). According to scholars, Roman women had unequal legal status with men and by law men had jurisdiction over women and girls (Gregory, 2018). For instance, over the course of a woman’s life, she would pass from her father’s control to her husband’s authority. Roman women only received basic education with most middle and upper middle class girls being taught reading and writing. Some affluent families also employed tutors to educate their daughters on advanced grammar and Greek (Milnor, 2011). This was done in a bid to ensure that women were literate enough to manage their households. Roman women played a significant role in supervising and managing the household and upbringing of their children. Women were to provide support to their husbands but not challenge their husband’s authority.
In terms of social class, poor Roman women worked as hard as their husbands to sustain the household while upper class women were mostly within the household not venturing outside the house (Gregory, 2018). Women from elite families were encouraged to cultivate an educated persona. For instance, Hortensia was one of the few Roman women with impeccable speech making skills (Gregory, 2018). In 42BC she gave a speech about the denouncement of tax imposition on Rome’s wealthy women. By the first century AD women had acquired some freedom since they were given the right to own inherit or dispose property unlike in the past centuries where women did not have a right to property ownership or inheritance (Mark, 2014). However, the degree of freedom Roman women enjoyed was dependent on their social status and wealth.
In the Roman society, only a few women owned and managed businesses such as lamp making, midwifery, hairdressing and medicine (Milnor, 2011). During the Roman reign, there were many female slaves who filled a large variety of roles such as farm workers, maids and gladiators. Wealthy widows and Vestel virgins were independent since they were not subjected to men’s authority (Milnor, 2011). Furthermore, women were not given the privilege of participating in political affairs as they could not vote or vie for political positions. However, the female relatives and wives of prominent men influenced the political outcomes through exerting real and informal power (Milnor, 2011). The wives of politicians promoted their husband’s image to the public and most Roman emperors gained publicity through broadcasting idealized images of their sisters, daughters, wives and other female relatives to the general public.
Additionally, apart from their traditional roles of managing the household, Roman women also played a role in spinning and weaving yarn and clothe making (Mark, 2014). Clothes were mostly made from wool and linen and wool making was perceived as an ideal pastime for dutiful Roman women. For instance, Emperor Augustus wore simple woolen handmade garments made by his female relatives (Mark, 2014). Roman women were also expected to be good mothers (nurturing) and dignified wives. Many women were married off in their mid-teens and a woman was considered deviant if she was not married by age 20. The husband was selected by the father based on political or economic factors. Minors’ marriages were very common and husbands had complete authority over their wives. Wives were expected to produce many children with girls as young as 12 years giving birth more than six times before their 20th birthday (Mark, 2014). These women were also expected to remain chaste, modest and faithful to their husbands. Lastly aristocratic Roman women spent most of their time in the household only venturing out to go to the market place, temples, baths and to visit other female friends.
 
References
Gregory. S, Aldrete, PhD. (2018). The role of women in Ancient Rome-Piercing Together a Historical Picture. Retrieved online at. https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/role-of-women-in-ancient-rome/
Mark Cartwright, (2014). The role of women in the Roman World. Retrieved online at https://www.ancient.eu/article/659/the-role-of-women-in-the-roman-world/
Milnor, K. (2011). Women in Roman society. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World.
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