Critical Essay on Law 129 in Hammurabi's Code: Mesopotamian Women Lifestyle

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Critical Essay on Law 129 in Hammurabi’s Code: Mesopotamian Women Lifestyle

Throughout the world’s history, all genders have experienced an inexplicable variety of lifestyles varying from good and bad. Gender equality has not always been around in many places around the world but it may be believed to only exist in certain centuries. In reality, the scarcity of lifestyles that were and still are advantages has been going on since the early days of our history. Both genders have played a role in these types of lifestyles but males have mainly had the dominant, more powerful lives to live which meant that women had lower, more inferior lives to live. In Mesopotamia, from 2300-428 BCE, women became objectified by having been thought to be lower than men, with severe punishments, and no rights.

During 2300-428 BCE, women being objectified were thought to be lower than men in most cases due to their gender. No matter the situation, many women were seen as a person with no authority over most people. According to the article, Code of Hammurabi, it states, If a man has accused his wife but she has not been caught lying with another man, she shall take an oath in the name of god and return to her house[footnoteRef:0]. This quote is an example of when a woman can be considered a lower person than a male. The fact that a man can easily accuse a woman of an action she possibly did not commit shows the lack of importance of women. This conflict would relate to the main claim because women who are punished for something men accuse them of doing and not being sure about shows how much lower they thought of women in Mesopotamia. [0: Code of Hammurabi. Wright State University. 2019. http://www.wright.edu/~christopher.oldstone-moore/Hamm.htm. Page S. ]

Severe punishments rapidly became accustomed among the Mesopotamian women in many unnecessary cases in 2300-428 BCE. Many punishments women would get, had reasons behind them that nowadays are pointless and not that severe. Due to the significance of the reason in their days, the punishments were not thought thoroughly and instead were just done. In the article, ‘Code of Hammurabi’, it states, ‘ If she has not been discreet, has gone out, ruined her house, belittled her husband, she shall be drowned[footnoteRef:1]. In this quote, the woman may have done some damage to certain things and people but it would not be such a severe thing she had done. The punishment the women would get was unnecessary due to its severity since the actions were not worth the punishment given. The statement relates to the fact that the women in Mesopotamia were objectified since they got punished severely because it shows how women were punished too harshly after doing things that were not as severe as actions men would have. [1: Code of Hammurabi. Wright State University. 2019. http://www.wright.edu/~christopher.oldstone-moore/Hamm.htm. Page T. ]

Women in early Mesopotamia became objectified by having no rights when it came to various things. The women were not free when it came to marriage or who she was going to be living with and how. In the article, ‘Code of Hammurabi’, it states, ‘ If the wife of a man who is living in her husband’s house, has persisted in going out, has acted the fool, has wasted her house, has belittled her husband, he shall prosecute her. If her husband has said, ‘I divorce her,’ she shall go her way; he shall give her nothing as her price of divorce. If her husband has said ‘I will not divorce her’ he may take another woman to wife; the wife shall live as a slave in her husband’s house[footnoteRef:2]. This law from the article shows how women had no right in deciding many things for their own life. The women were passed around and just simply owned by their fathers and/or husband. They didn’t get to choose anything for themselves and if they tried to and they would get rejected, they would be punished because they even tried to violate how they have no right to choose what they want. This relates to the claim that the women were objectified because the women had no rights by showing how they did not get to choose what they wanted for themselves or their own life. [2: Code of Hammurabi. Wright State University. 2019. http://www.wright.edu/~christopher.oldstone-moore/Hamm.htm. Page 2D3.]

Women became objectified by having been thought to be lower than men, severe punishments, and no rights in Mesopotamia, from 2300-428 BCE. Women having been seen and treated as objects show how much of important role they played during certain periods in history. They were mainly not the dominant, more powerful gender in Mesopotamia, and it can be seen in much of the historic content known whether male dominance is rather larger than that of a woman or not. Nowadays, women can be seen as the superior gender in many cases, sometimes along with males. Overall, gender equality has not always been around but not having it has shaped the way both genders are treated in modern times, especially when it comes to women.

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