Final answer:
The Qur'an introduced progressive changes for women, providing inheritance laws, guidelines on marriage and divorce, and fostering their educational development. Notable individuals like Huda Sha'arawi and Zaynab al-Ghazali further advanced women's rights. These improvements significantly bettered women's status in Arab societies.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to historical texts, the Qur'an's injunctions regarding the treatment of women marked a significant departure from earlier practices in Arab societies. The Islamic reforms introduced a number of provisions aimed at improving the status and treatment of women, including rules for inheritance, and laws governing marriage and divorce. For example, the Qur'an granted women rights of inheritance which were previously unavailable, and set out guidelines that sought to protect women in marital and familial relationships.
Highlighting the status of women during the Abbasid Caliphate, improvements in literacy rates for both men and women were encouraged. Educational reforms like the memorization of the Koran not only uplifted women's status by providing them with essential religious and literary knowledge but also equipped them with skills that were beneficial in commerce, which contributed to the economic prosperity of the Islamic world of that time.
Individual female figures also emerged during this period, such as Huda Sha'arawi and Zaynab al-Ghazali, who established and encouraged feminist movements, furthering the cause of women's rights both domestically and internationally. Thus, the changes ushered in by the Qur'an and the resultant social reforms represent a substantial improvement on the earlier treatment of women in Arab societies.