Amanda Rutledge

Period 4

Religion has, and is still, known for providing guidelines for how its members should act

in society. Many organizations are known to have roots in a patriarchal structure, however, and

thrive with the forced submission of women. As evident in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity,

women in Europe and Southwest Asia during 600 and 1400 C.E. were restricted and oppressed

by religious doctrine and practices. After the time period, a contrast between consistent and

altered practices regarding women emerged.

In the later years in the period of 600 and 1400 C.E., some ideas about women remained

constant. In Islamic practices, the Q’uran states that women should “cast down their looks are

guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments” (D3). It is understood that women

were expected to be humble and unseen. This key idea remained throughout the 1300s,

exemplified by the writings of Egyptian scholar Ibn al Haji who writes, “look how these norms

have been neglected in our days” (D5). In the Torah, it is commanded that “the wife of the dead

man shall not be married abroad unto another who is not his kin” (D1). Essentially, women were

treated as property of any male relative. This document represents a great deal of importance for

the Jewish faith, making it very useful and reliable. Years after the Torah was created, the

Mishneh Torah​, a commentary by Moses ben Maimon, was published in roughly 1170 C.E.. As

explained in an except, “the sages have warned us that a man shall not teach his daughter the

Torah,” an idea intended to bar women from religious practices and education. While this

document is not a primary text for Judaism, and a commentary of an existing work and therefore

may not be as reliable as the Torah itself, the nature of its publication and general opinions

reflect many of general citizens, making it a generally useful text.

 As well, some ideas or practices involving women were altered. An example of this is

seen in the Christian faith. A certain Medieval Roman Catholic Bible verse states: “Let a woman

learn in silence with all submissiveness” (D2). This document, an early form of the modern day

Bible, is reliable both because of its primary source nature and because its teachings’ widespread

usage. Throughout the text, multiple verses endorse similar restrictions on women. This is in

contrast with a later writing, ​The Book of the City of Ladies​ by Christine de Pisan in 1405 C.E..

While this text, written by a women, may be biased in favor of females and not adequately

reflect male opinions, it refers to a more favorable view on women, and the fact that a woman

was able to publish a text reveals relatively more freedom. While the Bible accuses women of

holding responsibility for sin, Pisan remarks that “man has gained far more through Mary than he

ever lost through Eve,” directly refuting negative views (D6).

An additional piece of evidence that supports this claim is from the Hindu religion,

specifically from the Lawbook of Manu. This document, also known as the Manu-smriti, was a

religious and legal document outlining practices and societal norms (“Role of Women”).

Included in it was information on women, statements that “called for respect towards women as

long as they were subservient to men” and endorsed the practice of Sati, or the burning of a

man’s wife in his funeral (“Role of Women”). This document supports the idea that women were

suppressed by religions during the 1000’s because of its emphasis of women’s second

class-citizenship in comparison to men. Besides providing an additional piece of evidence, this

knowledge on Hinduism supports the idea that women were oppressed and made to be

submissive in all parts of the world during ancient history. The Hindu religion was generally

based in South Asia, a location far away from Christianity in Europe. Generally, it can be
claimed that the role of women was restricted in almost all aspects of life, religious and secular,

throughout a large geological zone, revealing the commonality behind such a practice.