Use Of The Government And The Stratification Of Gender...

The year is 1800BC. The ruling king is Hammurabi. We are a part of the Mesopotamian civilization. We have already mastered agriculture and utilize the Indus River when possible. The day is going on as usual. But as we mingle about, we stumble upon a colossal seven foot tablet in the town square. Since we cannot read, we have one of the few people who can read it to us. It is called Hammurabi’s Code and we learn that it displays important cases regarding the king and is a list of rules for all citizens. For future historians, however, it is an opportunity to evaluate the new role of the government and the stratification of both gender and class. Hammurabi’s Code can be used to identify the lack of gender equality during the period of the†¦show more content†¦Whereas if a woman disrespects her husband, she is immediately sent to death. This immense gap in punishments strengthens the idea of gender stratification. Also, if a woman is caught cheating, it is her hus band’s decision whether or not the wife and the lover live. If he decides they are not to live, both will be put to death at once. The code fails to speak about the repercussions of a man cheating. One can infer that nothing will happen to a man who cheats. If a son doesn’t choose to marry a wife picked out for him, she can leave and will be given back all she gave to the family. This confirms the fact that women do not have much of a choice in marriage, everything is up to the male. Women however were somewhat protected in the sense of sexual oppressions. For example, if a man â€Å"pins down another man’s virgin wife† (Reilly, Hammurabi’s code, 55) he is given the death penalty. Women are somewhat protected because in order for the man to be punished, he has to be caught in the act. This implies that if a woman were to report the incident, nothing would be done. Hammurabi’s code gives historians a special sneak peek look into what is consi dered the beginnings of patriarchy. Once humans discovered how to do agriculture, class separation became clear and Mesopotamia was no exception as shown through Hammurabi’s Code. It is evident that the awilu, the highest class, were entitled to lesser sentences as long as the