Pre-19th century Before the nineteenth century, girls in India, similar to girls in other parts of the world, were expected to learn and take on housework at an early age. Home school was a popular choice, and the learning content often centered mostly on domestic...
16th to 19th century Americas and Europe In the American South in the decades before the Civil War, there were around one million enslaved girls under the age of 16. Their girlhood was a unique construction where race, age, and gender under slavery had an intertwined...
Medieval and Early Modern Europe Girls started working as apprentices at craft workshops at the age of 10 or 11 in many medieval European towns. Especially for girls from poor families, it was typical to leave their parents and home at such an early age to look for...
Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) Compared with other later dynasties in China, Han girls were relatively free in public life. Girls were welcome to engage in industries such as business, medicine, divination, and performance. Girls from royal families also could be...
700 BCE to 323 BCE (Archaic period and Classical period of Greece) The life of girls in ancient Greece varied slightly depending on the city-state. But in general, girlhood was spent in preparation for the girl’s marriage. In the first six years of their life, girls...
