Nina Boggan

12-17-17
Period 4
DBQ: Religion and Women
In between 600 C.E and 1400 C.E, the women played a very different part in society than
they do today. Religious doctrine and practices in Europe and Southwest Asia allowed for
females in these regions to be valued as creators of a family, but not as free people with the right
to make their own decisions. This made for a patriarchal society in these regions, where women
were expected to answer to their husbands and fathers.
One idea that was present in multiple religions in Europe and Southwest Asia is the idea
that a woman's body was inherently sinful. In “Excerpts from, The Book of the City of Ladies by
Christine de Pisan (1405 c. e.)” it is written that “man has gained far more through Mary than he
ever lost through Eve” (Document 6). This can be interpreted as women being better for
Christian society as non-promiscuous and aspiring mothers. Muslim travelers had this same idea
when they viewed Christian women. In ”Muslim Women in Fourteenth Century Medieval Cairo,
Comments by Egyptian Scholar Ibn al Hajj. c,. 1300,” it is said that “[Christian women] have a
manner of walking that causes the pious men to withdraw closer to the walls, in order to make
way for them…” (Document 5). These documents are useful in determining the outlook people
had on women’s expression through their bodies, as they give the perspective of men and
women. The evidence in these documents shows the stigma around a promiscuous woman.
In religious civilizations during this time period, men were the contributors to scholarship
and government. Because of a history of the patriarchy that existed at the time of the creation of
most religions, their creators’ ideologies were very misogynistic had a great effect on women’s
rights for centuries to come. In “Excerpt from the Mishneh Torah, a Medieval commentary on
the Torah, by Moses ben Maimon in Egypt, 1170 – 1180 c. e,” it is said that “A woman who
studies Torah will be recompensed, but not in the same measure as a man, for the study was not
imposed on her as a duty” (Document 4). Women were not recognized as scholars in the way
that men were. Their role was to work in the home, and not in an academic environment like
men, who were expected to be educated and go to school. Throughout much of history, in many
cultures, only wealthy or royal women were educated. Women were expected to be passive in
all aspects of life, and were even told not to “strike their feet so that what they hide of their
ornaments may be known" (Document 3) in Muslim culture. Although women were taught that
getting married was their life goal, it was of the utmost importance that Muslim women were
modest. They were judged by manners rather than intellect. It is clear from the documents that a
woman’s independence and education were not considered important like the man’s.
A woman's job in most European and Southwest Asian regions was to give birth to
children (preferably male) and raise them. Women were expected to aspire to marriage, and a
woman’s hand in marriage was known to be used by men to obtain wealth, respect, and even end
wars. An example is Helen of Troy, whose beauty quite literally started a war. Women were
taught that a powerful female was a physically attractive one. “Timothy 2:11-15, Medieval
Roman Catholic Bible” states in verse 5 that “... woman will be saved through bearing children,
if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty” (Document 2). This essentially
means that women cause sin, and that this can only be forgiven through giving birth to children
and completing a mother’s duties. A similar concept in is seen in “Excerpt from the Torah; about
the obligation of a Levirate marriage”. This document demonstrates the importance of a
woman’s role in continuing the family line. According to the excerpt, “If brothers live together
and one of them dies and he has no child, the wife of the dead man shall not be married abroad
unto one who is not his kin” (Document 1). A Jewish woman was bound to her husband even
after his death, because she was forced have children with and wed his brother. Both the excerpts
are accurate representations of the opinions of the general public in Europe and Southwest Asia,
because they come from written works read by anyone who practiced religion.They prove that
women across multiple faiths were thought to be created for the sole purpose of continuing a
man’s family line, and raising their children to be good followers of their religion.
In almost instances, women were viewed as secondary to men in European and
Southwest Asian religions. Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike all worshipped concepts in
written works that describe women as sinful temptation, and only valuable in that they could give
birth.