The women join a special society, so they can be assigned tasks based on what they are going to be capable of. For instance, the Red Shields act as police, which may require them to subdue offenders in a non-lethal manner. Most women simply cannot wrestle a huge guy down to make him behave, which is why in the real world, female police officers have a higher incidence of drawing their weapons, and more shootings than male officers. Presumably, they would not be as capable of holding the line in a last stand a la the Stone Dogs either - the Maidens' primary function is one of stealth and mobility and observation and stamina. If they had to hold a crucial position, it would be easier to bullrush a group of Maidens, who probably rely on manuevering and mobility when they fight. The Knife Hands have been suggested, with no supporting evidence, to be bare-hand specialists, and men would be better at that than women, and so on.