High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! From the earliest preserved archaeological records, women in Egypt have been thought to be considered nearly equal to men in Egyptian society, regardless of marital status. Women were stated lower than men when it came to a higher leader in the Egyptian hierarchy counting his peasants. This hierarchy was similar to the way the peasants were treated in the Middle Ages. Despite this equality, women were expected to avoid contact with men who were not kin and to veil themselves in public. As children, females were raised to be solely dependent upon their fathers and older brothers. An early married life for women meant a time of extreme subordination and insecurity. When women married, they depended on their husbands to make all decisions, while the women themselves were depended upon to carry out household chores. Married Egyptian women were expected by their husband’s families to bear children, but particularly males. It was common for married couples to continue to reproduce until bearing at least two sons. Barrenness was considered a severe misfortune for Egyptian women, as well as the inability to produce male offspring. Women who had only bore females were given derogatory names, such as “mothers of brides”. A family with well-grown sons were considered to have decent security. An Egyptian woman was thought to be at the peak of power when her sons had married because she automatically acquired the control over the newly growing families of her sons.