Introduction
Male dominance was a trait that was popularly practiced by the ancient settlers of Mesopotamia in the southern part of Iraq. Sumer was the land of the Sumerian-speaking people who have also been termed the cradle of civilization. The Civilization in Sumer was the first in the world starting from the early Bronze Age. Sumerians are also the authors of laws worldwide. They were the first organized community to come up with the art of writing. The art enabled them to put down the laws of the land. In Sumer, the laws were enacted in a way that gave men more power over women. From leadership to dressing code, women were dominated by the men in society.
Male dominance in Sumerian civilization
In the early days, Sumer land’s women enjoyed an equal power just like the men in the society. Here, a Sumerian woman would be given the opportunity to serve as religious deities in the temple. For every temple, a woman would be placed as a high priest and the Sumerians were supposed to worship her. The women here had the authority over the religious group and were held in high esteem. This was however not reserved for all women but only those in the high decree class.
It was likely that in ancient Sumer women were allowed to own properties and even perform other administrative duties in other states. A woman would perform these duties without any restriction from the husband. This was because initially men did not look down on women but saw them as their own equal. When a king by the name of Urukagina was in power, he was in favor of equality on both men and women in the land he once ordered “an equal pay for equal work regardless of sex” (Mitchell and Mitchell, 28).
In that era, women enjoyed many other freedoms, one of the liberties was to be adulterous without being penalized by their male counterparts. This however did not last for a long time, as new reforms were made and women were rendered powerless. The men took over the society and put into operation laws that were in favor of themselves. Women lost every single right they possessed and were left on the mercies of men. This marked the beginning of male dominance in Sumer land.
The new laws gave the men the mandate to be adulterous. The females in the society were prohibited from being adulterous. A firm decree was put in place regarding any adulterous practice by a woman. Any woman who was found practicing adultery would be punished under the law. The penalty was death by drowning. The law permitted a man to be as adulterous as he chose. This proved the distinction between the male and the female in society. Without the endorsement of any penalties to the men proved that the female members in Sumer land were regarded as second-class citizens.
Sumerian civilization
Civilization in Sumer was started from the ground as there was nothing, to begin with at the time. Agricultural technology such as farming and livestock keeping was practiced. Cities and states were first established by the Sumerian people. Trade, industry, and commerce were also invented in Mesopotamia. Here, the laws laid down were used to maintain order and tranquility within the cities. The laws were more advanced and offenders would be given harsh penalties. This was to make sure significant issues such as life and property were well respected.
Different aspects of male dominance
As the inventions continued, the Sumerian civilization became exclusively male dominate. Women were used as tools in enhancing the civilization in the society. In agriculture, women and slaves were laborers. They did all the manual work in the farms from tilting the land to harvesting. All this was done under the tight supervision of the warriors who were exclusively men. The warriors were very vicious and they would use force to make sure that work was done to perfection. Women were brutally pushed around by the physically build men. This was an inhuman act where women were regarded as slaves. The acts of subordination were practiced in Sumerian land on a larger scale.
In a male supremacy society, women were not allowed to occupy any authoritative seat in the hierarchy of leadership like it was in earlier days. From the highest position of command to the lowest, “it was male-dominated: men ran the government, managed the economy” (Mitchell and Mitchell, 27). The Sumerian hierarchy was headed by a king followed by bureaucrats, priests, traders, educators, warriors, and farmers. In this chain of command, women did not hold any position. For instance, the king was selected from the warriors who were dominantly male. This pattern was followed in the entire hierarchy. Women in this society could only serve as wives, concubines, slaves and mothers, therefore limiting them to any other post in the society.
Decisions made in this society were reserved for men. The absence of female representation in the gathering ensured that the decisions made were in favor of men. The women lacked the voice to air out their grievances and interests. The endorsement of male dominance into law did not guarantee any protection to the Sumerian women. They lacked authority over anything in the society, “women were treated as second-class citizens without power and prestige” (Mitchell and Mitchell, 27). The only authority reserved for women was on household matters with few privileges like trading and taking care of the house. Other than that a woman was not protected by any law. In case the husband died the wife was placed under the control of the late husband’s brother. The brother would take care of all the property that had been owned by the late husband until the eldest of the deceased’s son became old enough to inherit the wealth. When the son entered the maturity stage, the widow would then be placed under her son’s authority. This law made sure that the woman would stay under male dominance for the rest of her life.
Sumerian men were highly regarded whereas women had little or no say at all in the society. The most exploited issue in the men’s dominance of Sumerian society was sexism. The religion that was developed did not give women power over their bodies. The myths observed in cooperated prostitution which was widely practiced. Priests in the temples were allowed to practice prostitution and as a result, many children were born. The children born out of these relationships were placed in another homestead to be brought up by a different set of parents. This was exercised through a set of laws that were put in place for adoption. Women in this society did not have the right over the child born out of prostitution with the priests in the temple. The system denied the mother the right to bring up her own child as well as denying the woman the power and choice over reproduction.
Another aspect of sexism was the marrying of young women to the gods in the temple. The act of celibate undermined the rights of the women as they were married off to the gods without their own consent and will. In other cases, the young women who were supposed to be married off to the gods in these temples were abused by the priest. This was done without remorse and any violating of the law. In the Sumerian society setting, the priests hold a high position according to the law (Craig, and Graham, 52). Being above the law they would therefore use their position to degrade the female gender to suit their own interest.
Slavery was a common trait that the people would use to acquire wealth and labor. Here a man would easily sell his wife as a slave to acquire wealth. The woman would also be traded to another man as a concubine in exchange for any material thing. Sometimes the woman would be bought as a domestic worker. The kind of slavery practiced here was different because the slave could buy back the freedom by working for three years. This was the price an innocent woman would pay for her freedom. The act portrayed how dominant men were over women. It showed how greedy the men were and would value wealth more than the rights of their own wives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, male dominance has been an issue from the times of ancient civilization which has encouraged female subjugation by men today. Religion has also played a big part in the subordination of women. Religious ideologies have been misinterpreted and used to suit a certain group of people in a society. Women fall in a category that ensures they are undermined and oppressed in the name of religion. Just like with Sumerians, agriculture has been a form of civilization that places women under male dominance. The lack of emphasis on educating the girl child has been the main cause for male dominance just like it was in the Sumerian civilization.
Works Cited
Craig, Albert, and Graham, William. The Heritage of World Civilizations, Volume 1. New York, NY: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
Mitchell, Joseph, and Helen, Mitchell. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in World History, The Ancient World to the Pre-Modern Era. Volume 1. New York, NY: McGraw, Hill/Dushkin, 2006. Print.