The little-known fact is that Meccan society was matriarchal until Islam appeared. So, on marriage, males joined the woman's clan, and uncles were more significant than fathers; women signified the marriage was over by putting the man's shoes on the opposite side of their entrances' dwelling and women were keepers of the keys to the Kaaba. Children belonged to the mother and her clan. All this changed when Muhammed introduced the patriarchal types of rules he had learnt from the Christian and Jewish traders.