Women suffered in the pagan Arab society great injustices and were exposed to diverse kinds of humiliations prior to the mission of the Messenger of Allah . They were treated like material property to be disposed off at the whim of the male guardian. They were not entitled to inherit from their parents or husbands. Arabs believed inheritance should only be granted to those who had martial abilities, like being able to ride a horse, fight, gain war booties and help protect the tribe and clan territory. Since she did not generally have these qualities, she was herself inherited like any moveable commodity after the death of an indebted husband. If the deceased husband had adult sons from other marriages, the oldest son amongst them had the right to add her to his household, just as a son inherits other chattels of his deceased father. She was unable to leave the house of her stepson unless she paid a ransom.

 As a general practice, men had the freedom to acquire as many wives as they desired with no set limits. There was no system of law and justice that would forbid a man from committing any injustice towards his wives. Women had no right to choose, or even consent to being chosen as a partner for marriage: they were simply given away. Women were forbidden to remarry if a husband divorced them.

 In the pre-Islamic era of Arabia, fathers commonly became extremely angry and disgraced with the birth of a female child into their family. Some considered it an evil omen. Allah, the Exalted, describes the father’s reception of the news about the birth of a daughter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BVaq05HSPo

When the news of (the birth of) a female is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil (and shame) of that which he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor, or bury her in the dirt? Certainly, evil is their decision. [16:59]

Women were not even able to practice some of the most natural of rights, for instance eating certain types of foods was allowed only for males. Allah, the Exalted, records this in the

Glorious Qur’an:

And they say: What is in the bellies of such cattle (whether milk or fetus) is for the male alone, and forbidden from our females, however, if it was born dead, then all have shares therein… [6:139]

The hatred of female babies prompted Arabs to bury them alive. Allah, the Exalted, states in the Glorious Qur’an with reference to the Day of Requital:

And when the female buried alive shall be questioned: for what sin was she killed? [81:8-9]

Some fathers used to bury their female children alive if the child was leprous, lame or with birth defect. Allah  states in the Glorious Qur’an:

And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and you. Surely, the killing of them is a great sin. [17:31] .By Allah, we didn.t use to think that women had anything until Allah revealed about them what He revealed in the Qur.an, and distributed to them what He distributed..

In Indian society women were treated generally as maids or slaves with no will or desire of their own. They had to follow their husbands in all matters. Women were given as payment for loss to a gambling opponent. To show devotion, they were forced to burn themselves alive by jumping onto the funeral pyre of their husbands after their death. This practice, called .sutti. continued until the end of the 17th century when this custom was outlawed in spite of the dismay caused to the Hindu religious leaders. Although outlawed formally, sutti was widely practiced until the end of 19th century and still continues in some of the remote areas of India. In certain regions of India, women are offered to the priests as concubines, or as prostitutes to be exploited. In others, they were sacrificed to the Hindu gods to please them or seek rain.

 Some Hindu laws even declare that:

 The predestined patience, the blowing wind or tornadoes, death, hellfire, poison, snakes and fire are no less evil than women..

 It is also stated in Hindu religious books, that  “When Manna [the Hindu god of creation] created women he imposed onto them the love of bed, seats, decoration [make-up], filthy lust (of all types and kinds), anger, rebellion against honor and dignity and evil attitudes, behavior and conduct.”