On what social issues were the rabbis (Chazal and rishonim) ahead of their times? That is, which social/political matters subject to wide agreement today were shared by Chazal before these views became widely held by non-Jewish populations?
For example, marital rape is absolutely forbidden by Chazal and strongly condemned by rishonim as well. See some sources here: http://www.jsafe.org/pdfs/pdf_032206_2.pdf
In contrast, marital rape was not illegal in Western countries until the 20th century, and is still legal in numerous non-Western countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marital_rape.
What are other examples? Knowing about such examples is important because it provides evidence against the notion -- often found among apostates from traditional Judaism, from the 19th century to the present -- that modern values and norms are superior to those of traditional Judaism.
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