in the account of the kingdom of Bornu it's women and, in particular, the Queen mother had great power in the state. This also happened in many other kingdoms in West Africa where the true ancestors of children were those on the mothers side of the family. In the past women held high positions in many African states.
In Dahomey, women even went out to battle. In 1862 an army of 2500 Dahoman women were seen setting out on a military expedition. They were said to be as strong as any men and armed with riffles and long, sharp matches.
In Islam the position of the women was explained in the words of the Korean. There grew up also in pagan tribes some secret societies, in which the main aim of the male members seems to have been to limit the power of women.