Women’s Position in Ancient Rome and India Essay

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Women’s roles and positions vary greatly from civilization to civilization. This can be well observed while comparing such civilizations of the ancient world as Indian and Roman ones. In the following paper, the two civilizations along with their outlook on women’s position in society will be compared and contrasted. Evaluating the facts, it appears that in Ancient Rome women enjoyed better rights and freedoms than in Ancient India.

Comparing women’s positions in Ancient Rome and Ancient India, it should be stated that similarities are not many. Of course, in both of these civilizations, women were oppressed and limited in their rights and freedoms. This is the main similarity between the situations women had to face in both civilizations. In particular, in Ancient Rome women were not considered citizens as men believed that women were to be under their guardianship. A similar position existed in India (post-Vedic period) as women were cut off their freedoms and rights. However, in Ancient India, before 1500 BC, women enjoyed a better situation. They were allowed to acquire education, and to occupy high social positions. Both in Ancient Rome and Ancient India, women were considered to be the centers of the household. They were responsible for cooking, cleaning and taking care of their children. In Ancient India, women were also responsible for financial operations related to their families such as purchasing household items, clothing and food products. In Rome, women could make some minor purchases. Finally, in both cultures, women were not allowed to spend too much time in public, they were forbidden to chat in the streets and appear in certain areas of their towns and villages. All in all, in both cultures, women faced serious bias and prejudice problems as to their political, spiritual, material, and family fate.

Contrasting women’s position in the two cultures, it appears that the differences were many. Such tendency is especially observed while comparing certain periods of Ancient Roman and Indian cultures. In India, women enjoyed better rights and freedoms during the earlier period of civilization; in Rome, women became more significant in the society in later periods, particularly, during the period when Rome was an Empire. Thus, the differences are more remarkable if to contrast women’s position in the Roman Empire and Indian states of the post-Vedic period. While in post-Vedic India women lost their rights and freedoms for the most part, in Roman Empire, women acquired unprecedented civil liberties. Namely, they were able to own material values such as land and real estate, get a paid job, and inherit wealth. In addition, women were also allowed to give wills to slaves and, even, free them. Among the most astonishing freedoms that women acquired was permission for drinking wine. It is mind-blowing, but in earlier periods of Roman civilization, women were not allowed to take any alcohol including wine.

As a final point, women’s positions in Ancient Rome and Ancient India appear to be rather different. Among the similarities such points can be mentioned: both civilizations significantly limited women in their rights including the right to citizenship, education and participation in state affairs. In addition, in both of the civilizations under consideration, women’s main duty was in housekeeping and taking care of their families. In both cultures, women faced serious bias and prejudice problems as to their political, spiritual, material and family fate.

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"Women’s Position in Ancient Rome and India." IvyPanda, 31 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/womens-position-in-ancient-rome-and-india/.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'Women’s Position in Ancient Rome and India'. 31 January.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Women’s Position in Ancient Rome and India." January 31, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/womens-position-in-ancient-rome-and-india/.

1. IvyPanda. "Women’s Position in Ancient Rome and India." January 31, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/womens-position-in-ancient-rome-and-india/.


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IvyPanda. "Women’s Position in Ancient Rome and India." January 31, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/womens-position-in-ancient-rome-and-india/.

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