system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
You should keep in mind that Muhammad actually improved the lives of women by leaps and bounds compared to the pagan society he grew up in. He ended the practice of female infanticide, and established actual explicit rights for women. Which was unprecedented for the time. 

Dont get me wrong, I totally agree religion can be harmful. Things can stick out poorly and be weaponized in the context of the world today.
gpt
Thats the jahilia revisionism. Many new religions tend to do this, where they paint the times before the emergence of their religion as being governed by nothing but evil and degeneracy. Its part of their propaganda and cannot be taken too seriously. Especially if it is a monotheism talking about "pagans".

After all, Islam started relatively recently, at an era when many societies and civilizations were fully formed with detailed codes of ethics. And Arabia, being on the route between Europe and Asia, was exposed to many advanced cultures. So it is likely that trade centers in that region (where Islam originated) were relatively liberal compared to the bs that Islam makes it to be for its own PR drive.