Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. That includes actual law reforms as well as other formal changes, such as reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents. The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline excludes ideological changes and events within feminism and antifeminism: for that, see Timeline of feminism.
Timeline
Pre history 24th century BC City-state Lagash in Mesopotamia: Some of the laws in the code of Urukagina were: Widows were exempted from taxes, and "When to the reeds of Enki a person has been brought...One woman’s headband, and one sila [about 1 liter] of princely fragrance shall the eresh-dingir priestess take away." As well, Urukagina greatly expanded the royal "Household of Women" from about 50 persons to about 1500 persons, renamed it the "Household of goddess Bau", gave it ownership of vast amounts of land confiscated from the former priesthood, and placed it under the supervision of his wife, Shasha (or Shagshag).Katherine I. Wright, Archaeology and Women, 2007, p. 206. However, Urukagina also seems to have abolished the former custom of polyandry in his country, on pain of the woman taking multiple husbands being stoned with rocks upon which her crime is written.The Powers p. 40 by Walter Wink, 1992 No comparable laws from Urukagina addressing penalties for adultery by men have survived. There is also a statute from Urukagina's time stating that "if a woman says [text illegible...] to a man, her mouth is crushed with burnt bricks." The discovery of these fragments has led some modern critics to assert that they provide "the first written evidence of the degradation of women".Marilyn French, From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women, 2008, p. 100. About 2100–2050 BC Mesopotamia (Code of Ur-Nammu): Some of the laws in the Code were: A woman (munus) went from being a daughter (dumu-mi) to a wife (dam), then if she outlived her husband, a widow (nu-ma-su), who could remarry. "If the wife of a man followed after another man and he slept with her, they shall slay that woman, but that male shall be set free", "If a man violates the right of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that male", "If a man proceeded by force, and deflowered the virgin female slave of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver", "If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay (her) one mina of silver, "If it is a (former) widow whom he divorces, he shall pay (her) half a mina of silver", "If the man had slept with the widow without there having been any marriage contract, he need not pay any silver", "If a man accused the wife of a man of adultery, and the ordeal by water proved her innocent, then the man who had accused her must pay one-third of a mina of silver", "If a prospective son-in-law enters the house of his prospective father-in-law, but his father-in-law later gives his daughter to another man, the father-in-law shall return to the rejected son-in-law twofold the amount of bridal presents he had brought", "If a man’s slave-woman, comparing herself to her mistress, speaks insolently to her, her mouth shall be scoured with 1 quart of salt" and "If a slave woman strikes someone acting with the authority of her mistress, [text destroyed...]".Roth, Martha. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, pp. 13–22. About 1870 BC Isin (Code of Lipit-Ishtar): Some of the laws were: "If the father is living, his daughter whether she be a high priestess, a priestess, or a hierodule shall dwell in his house like an heir", "If the second wife whom he had married bore him children, the dowry which she brought from her father's house belongs to her children but the children of his first wife and the children of his second wife shall divide equally the property of their father", "If a man married his wife and she bore him children and those children are living, and a slave also bore children for her master but the father granted freedom to the slave and her children, the children of the slave shall not divide the estate with the children of their former master", "If a man's wife has not borne him children but a harlot from the public square has borne him children, he shall provide grain, oil and clothing for that harlot. The children which the harlot has borne him shall be his heirs, and as long as his wife lives the harlot shall not live in the house with the wife", and "If a son-in-law has entered the house of his (prospective) father-in-law and afterwards they made him go out (of the house) and gave his wife to his companion, they shall present to him the betrothal gifts which he brought and that wife may not marry his companion." About 1754 BC Babylon (Code of Hammurabi): Some of the laws in this Code were: Men were permitted to have affairs with their servants and slaves, whereas married women would be harshly punished for committing adultery. "If any one 'point the finger' at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair)." "If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: 'You are not congenial to me,' the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's house." About 1650 – 1500 BC Code of the Nesilim: Some of the laws were: "If anyone cause a free woman to miscarry, if it be the tenth month, he shall give ten half-shekels of silver, if it be the fifth month, he shall give five half-shekels of silver", "If anyone cause a female slave to miscarry, if it be the tenth month, he shall give five half-shekels of silver", "If a free man and a female slave be fond of each other and come together and he take her for his wife and they set up house and get children, and afterward they either become hostile or come to close quarters, and they divide the house between them, the man shall take the children, only one child shall the woman take", "If a slave take a woman as his wife, their case is the same. The majority of the children to the wife and one child to the slave", "If a slave take a female slave their case is the same. The majority of children to the female slave and one child to the slave", "If a slave convey the bride price to a free son and take him as husband for his daughter, nobody dare surrender him to slavery", "If a man have intercourse with his own mother, it is a capital crime, he shall die", "If a man have intercourse with a daughter, it is a capital crime, he shall die", "If a man and a woman come willingly, as men and women, and have intercourse, there shall be no punishment. And if a man have intercourse with his stepmother, there shall be no punishment; except if his father is living, it is a capital crime, the son shall die", "If a free man picks up now this woman, now that one, now in this country, then in that country, there shall be no punishment if they came together sexually willingly", "If the husband of a woman die, his wife may take her husband's patrimony", "If a free man pick up female slaves, now one, now another, there is no punishment for intercourse. If brothers sleep with a free woman, together, or one after the other, there is no punishment. If father and son sleep with a female slave or harlot, together, or one after the other, there is no punishment", "If a man sleep with the wife of his brother, while his brother is living, it is a capital crime, he shall die. If a man have taken a free woman, then have intercourse also with her daughter, it is a capital crime, he shall die. If he have taken her daughter, then have intercourse with her mother or her sister, it is a capital crime, he shall die", "If a man rape a woman in the mountain, it is the man's wrong, he shall die. But if he rape her in the house, it is the woman's fault, the woman shall die. If the husband find them and then kill them, there is no punishing the husband", and "If any man have intercourse with a foreign woman and pick up this one, now that one, there is no punishment."From the Ancient History Sourcebook, The Code of the Nesilim, c. 1650 – 1500 BCE, Paul Halsall, August 1998, from: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1901), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 9–11 and scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton. Prof. Arkenberg has modernized the text. About 1075 BC