The Code of Hammurabi
In Babylonian society, women were viewed as second-class citizens. The Code of Hammurabi gave women false rights laid down for them by men only for the protection of men. This gave Babylonian fathers, husbands, and brothers complete control over matters such as: divorce, inheritance, and even violent crimes committed by men against women. Men and women could divorce even in Babylonia, yet only the woman would suffer from marital conclusion. If a Babylonian woman divorced her husband by saying "You shall not possess me," she would be sent to liv
Although it is sometimes argued that the Code of Hammurabi protects certain women's rights, it essentially protected the rights of Babylonian men by outlining the obedience of its women. Men, throughout their lives, undermined women in Babylonian society. If the woman was a votary, (CoH 40 sub 5, pg9) she collected her portion until her death when it fell back to her brothers. When a man beat a pregnant woman, killing her unborn child, her assailant simply paid a fine and walked free. (CoH 183, pg16) Violent acts of crime towards women held little or no punishment with accordance to the Code of Hammurabi. (CoH 180, pg16) If she was not a votary, she received nothing. Thus, women lived their lives in accordance with the wishes and needs of their men, and when they failed, chauvinistic laws punished them. (CoH 142, pg13) Yet if a man divorced his wife, he simply returned her marital portion. (CoH 209, pg 17) The law further stated, "If that woman should die, his daughter shall be killed. (CoH 138, pg13) The woman still returned to live with her father, and the husband would remain in possession of all their household goods no matter who was in the wrong. (CoH 211, pg17) If the victim was a free woman, it meant the man responsible for her miscarriage paid a higher fine than if he had beaten a lower-class woman. " (CoH 210, pg 17) This particular law made the murder's daughter held responsible for her father's crime, once again protecting the man. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. In the matter of inheritance, a woman's brothers held claim to their father's goods, unless the father left a deed for his daughter.
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