Women's Equality In Ancient Egypt

their own decision. Of course many that are lucky to live in a society where women do not need their husband in order to be out in public, or even to have the right to drive, we look at this as very unethical behavior. We want to help the people of these other cultures, but most do not see themselves as doing anything wrong. At times, not even women themselves will question this behavior due to the perspective of relativism. The perspective of relativism is base on "the idea that one's beliefs and values are understood in terms of one's society" (Mosser, 2013). In other words, what is moral or ethical is decided by one's culture, so a person's beliefs will be based off what they are seen and taught through their society. The perspective

Countries where women's equality has come a long way, such as the Unite States, have started to become role models and inspiration for places such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan, to name a few. In particular, Egypt is a very interesting example of the changes of women's equality throughout history. In the times of Ancient Egypt, women were very influential. There were many goddesses that the ancient Egyptians worshiped and respected, women in society were highly educated and respected, and there were even many great pharos that were female that are still considered to this day to be strong, successful leaders. After Europe invaded Egypt, however, it seemed the equality that women once had begun to fade away. The equality of women has been a uphill battle ever since. It seems that it is a difficult struggle for gender equality to reach the point where women are treated as equals. Education is one of the biggest areas where women are not put to the same standards as men. For example, "illiteracy among women is almost twice as high as among men"(UNFPA, 2013). The lack of education is especially unethical, in my mind. Every human has the right to an education, no matter their gender. This again falls back into the utilitarian theory. Not allowing women the right to an education is not benefiting the greatest amount of

Currently in India, abortions are a legal practice, but it can be a very difficult process to get a doctor's approval. There are strict laws which give the circumstances where an abortion is acceptable to perform. Any women that does not fall under these guidelines is required to continue on with the pregnancy. This has resulted in many women turning to illegal and unsafe abortion procedures. The extent of the illegal abortions, compared to those done legally, was shown in a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research. In this study, it was "revealed that the extent of illegal abortion (13.5 per 1,000 pregnancies) in comparison with legal abortion (6.1 per 1,000 pregnancies)" (Patra, 2013). The amount of illegal abortions that were taking place more than doubled those that were done legally. This in itself shows the dangers of taking away a women's ability to do what they feel is right for their own body. By eliminating the act does not prevent a women from still committing it, it will only put her in a harmful, unethical situation. This is why I think the virtue ethics is one of the best theory to apply to the topic of abortion. The idea of whether or not the act is moral should not rely on the act itself, but rather is the person is good and virtuous