Until the last century women did not have the same rights as men in the western world. For example, they could not vote or go to school. They were always subject to a male figure of the family (their fathers, brothers or some other male relative) and had to accept their choices. Their possessions usually belonged to their husbands. Sometimes they were not free to work and to choose their religion. In ancient Rome a wife was her husband's property and she could not do anything to her own wishes. Between 610 and 661, thanks to reforms that gave women some rights regarding inheritance. marriage and divorce, the status of women improved in Islam, but it was only centuries later that women given similar legal status in other cultures, because a patriarchal order was believed to be the most natural. At the beginning of the 20th century more and more women stated to think that this was not fair and wanted change.