the project, but there were other jobs too. Local rulers were called upon to draft these women for the work, in return for their services; the women would receive room, board, and clothing. These lodges needed to be staffed and it was women who were summoned to do so. ***Barbara Waterson wrote in her book Women in Ancient Egypt,“No matter how successful a woman was in the female priesthood or as a midwife, mourner, dancer, or musician, it is a depressing thought that these female professions were not as important or influential as those in the civil and public service, none of which was open to women. As far as a woman’s professional ambitions were concerned, it is a uncomfortable fact that no woman could aspire to be a king’s scribe, and army general, a governor of a city or a province, or an ambassador to foreign lands…The scope of her ambitions was strictly limited to those professions deemed suitable for women.” She is right in stating that women were subjugated. It is true that they were not afforded the same rights and jobs as the men. However, her statement is too revisionist. There was no other way of life for them to look at and dream of. They lived in relative harmony with their society. Even if they were beneath men, women were seen as vital. They were just as necessary to the survival of the Egyptian people and their culture as men. However, it is as Waterson wrote, “uncomfortable”. Relativism only can go so far, and women were denied the ability to exist as deserved equals to men. The question of women in ancient Egypt is a confusing one. They were not abused or oppressed, nor were they looked at as unimportant. Egyptian women were looked at differently than men; their role was that of the nurturer and the caregiver, the bearer of a family’s future. They were just as important to the society as the men. Ancient Egypt was a very complex world, and just as complex...
