Is Wizard law sexist? Was: General Rule of Law in the Wizard World, etc.

[phoenixgod2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 132465

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "amiabledorsai" 
<amiabledorsai at y...> wrote:
> The discussion of common vs. civil law, primogeniture and entails has
> been fascinating, but it makes me wonder: Law and tradition that 
favor
> males (it seems to me) come into being because, not to put too fine a
> point on it, men are bigger and stronger than women, and can make 
such
> things stick.
> 
> True enough for Muggles, but not necessarily so for magical people--I
> see no reason in canon to believe that witches are generally less
> powerful than wizards.
> 
> If a witch is as likely as a wizard to win a fight, should we expect
> that inheritance laws would favor wizards over witches?

A very good point. I think in general witches do stand shoulder to 
shoulder with wizards, but it so far seems like women still take the 
man's name when they marry. Which seems to me to be a sign of a 
patrilineal society. If family names are passed down through the male, 
it seems likely that family property also passes down the same way.
 
phoenixgod2000