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Hammurabi Dbq

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The Code of Hammurabi provides evidence that women had few rights and were seen as inferior to men. Women had the right to divorce therefore protecting them in that way; even if they left their husband, they wouldn’t be left with nothing. The law clearly states that a portion of the field, garden, and property shall be given to her. 1 The man controlled the finances in the family but there also had to be certain funds set aside for the women and their children. They were also able to buy and sell property giving them somewhat of an equal right as men. They could be property owners if the man bought a property and assigned a field, garden, or house to his wife or children.2 Another law that attempted to defend women, specifically pregnant women, stated that if a man were to strike at a pregnant woman and she had a miscarriage, he were to pay her ten shekels, and if the woman died, his daughter were to be killed.3 The punishment the man got for killing the woman's unborn child …show more content…
Although The Code of Hammurabi does have some laws that protect and benefit women, a lot would argue that these laws are more controlling than protecting. The fact that the fathers and brothers of the women arranged the marriages was controlling, women should have been able to develop their own relationships and pick for themselves. An unequal law in The Code of Hammurabi dealt with cheating or infidelity to one's partner. If a woman was caught lying with another man, she was to be drowned 4 but the men could sleep with their female servants. This reveals that they had different punishments for the same crime. An absurd law regarding this same issue is if a woman is accused by someone of cheating but had not been caught, she is to still jump in the sacred river for the sake of her husband; even if innocent. 5 These laws are gender biased therefore clearly depicting that the men were superior to the

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