Read a really good book "How Ireland saved civilization" in which it discusses the freedom and equality between sexes and peoples under Irish Celtic Catholicism.
The Celts still followed the bible, however women had much more rights, divorce and polygamy were around. It actually sounded quite tolerant for a religion, then the Pope started sending legates and telling them to stop that stuff.
Ireland was not special in this and the tolerance of sexes was quite high in Middle Age Europe, especially in the Earl Middle Ages. Actually, only the Franks/French were seemingly intolerant about it and, for better or worse, it is their culture that spread onto other cultures. True, the succession laws for highest titles were growingly unfriendly for women, but they were growingly unfriendly to everyone but the eldest son... which was the main point of it: have as few inheritors as possible. However, the inheritances for lesser titles were more open, and women often found themselves holding noble titles, as well as merchant companies.
But in general, true intolerance started only started after the Black Plague and the Renaissance. It is a dark irony that everywhere in the world women lost rights as the "civilization level", as we call it, grew.