A related thread might interest you. It had several responses, although by no means should this discourage further ones!

It's a little difficult to quantify feminism, so I will briefly share the general attitudes of each era of Arabian societies and let you decide for yourself.

For the purposes of discussion, I will liberally define feminism as it refers to the rights of women.

Pre-Islamic Arabia: Information is scarce because history was passed orally rather than through written record. Suffice it to say that society was divided among patrilineal tribes, who would war with each other for local hegemony; the patrilineal distinction is important, as this means a woman could rarely inherit property, a right for women which Islam would subsequently permit. In pre-Islamic Arabia woman's rights were defined by her social class; slaves and prostitutes had very limited rights; even then, their rights were negligible. Women could be sold into marriage at their father's will and their husbands could terminate the marriage as they pleased. The practice of "veiling" preceded Islam and can be traced to Assyrian laws; the veil signified aristocratic women and high-ranking priestesses, whose visages were not to be beheld by commoners, hence the veils. Only these aristocratic women were able to own (and rarely inherit) property, and also hold occupations. Khadija, for example, was a successful merchant in pre-Islamic Arabia who subsequently converted to Islam. Female infanticide was a prevalent practice. Child mortality was very high to begin with, and so male infants were seen as physically superior and more able to endure the climate of the desert. A male would grow up to be able to defend the tribe; unfortunately, this led to the murder of female infants. This is documented in epic Arabic poems (like The Diwan of Hassan). Divorce was allowed (albeit very difficult) during this time.

Early Islamic Arabia: I specifically emphasize early Islamic Arabia because the Islamic empire spanned centuries, and many legal and political frameworks evolved during this time. As the empire expanded, local customs were incorporated, obfuscating the difference between religious commandments and local practices. Aside from outlawing female infanticide, the Quran and Constitution of Medina offer numerous protections for women, particularly "lower class" women who were often excluded from legal protection previously. While prostitution was criticized as degrading to women, the pre-Islamic practice of women undertaking other forms of employment was continued; however, education was added onto it. Rather than simply inheriting a family trade, for example, Islam placed a religious obligation on women (as well as men) to seek knowledge- not simply profit. There were numerous female scholars of Islam at this time, notably Zaynab bint Ali. In addition, women served in the armed forces, such as Nusayba bint Ka'ab. In fact, Islamic hospitals were some of the first to empower female physicians to practice, rather than simply relegating females in medicine to nursing; this was seen as a necessity to protect the privacy and virtue of female patients. The Banu Zuhr family during the 12th century is a prime example of this. According to Islamic jurisprudence, a woman is under no obligation to give any earnings from her employment to her husband or family; this profit is hers to keep, while the financial responsibility for the household is the obligation of her husband. Women therefore were able to receive property through inheritance as well as through their own employment. Divorce was permitted, as in pre-Islamic Arabia.

In summary, pre-Islamic Arabia offered scant legal protection for women, and even then only if they were in the aristocracy. Islam banned female infanticide, expanded female property rights, emphasized female education and empowerment, and redefined the role of women in society. It completely overhauled the legal system of pre-Islamic Arabia that essentially allowed women to be traded like bargaining chips in strategic marriages.

It is important to note, that while Islamic jurisprudence was visionary with respect to female rights, unfortunately, the way it is sometimes practiced (or rather, bastardized) in modern times is actually diametrically opposed to how the doctrine was intended. Honor killings and forced veiling contradict the spirit of the doctrine. Interestingly enough, I found a similar pattern among other faith groups I have studied, whereby the initial advent of the faith was actually fairly liberal and then subsequent mis-interpretations became more puritanical.

Hope this helps!