No ancient civilization has respected women as much as they did in Ancient Egypt. There, of course, they had duties to fulfill, but these were necessary to achieve equal rights between human beings of both sexes. Men also had their role. This was not seen as a bad or negative thing: quite the opposite. In today's civilization it is quite common for there to be competition, and that due to this "competition" we can find ourselves immersed in discussions, or in major conflicts. These events, unfortunately so frequent today, did not happen as much or have the same intensity as in modern times.
The Egyptians believed that there was Order (named after Maat, a female goddess), and Chaos (which they named Seth). So that, women could be goddesses. But there is still more ...
Although usually only a man could become Pharaoh and that woman could only aspire to be co-regent, there were actually several Pharaohs. Women who managed to sit on the Governor's throne, and be respected by their people. Today we know them as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and the distant Cleopatra. There were some more, but they are the three of which more remains have been found, of which it has been possible to find out more details about their lives.
All three have a similar story. Pharaoh dies childless, or with a son too young to rule. Then he marries his sister or stepsister, of royal blood, who in the end ends up leaving in the background who should be the ruler, to be the one who ends up wearing the crown that unites the Two Lands: Upper and Lower Egypt.
But let's talk a little about the women who lived in villages. They, along with those of royal blood, they could own property and even get divorced if she stopped loving her husband. She worked, together with the man, in the fields, in addition to being the one in charge of giving food to those magnificent workers who built the precious and enigmatic monuments that have survived to this day.