My argument for is; This article made me think that women were underutilized or underestimated in their combat capabilities in the past. If they could achieve great arm strength then surely it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could develop sufficient muscle to draw warbows. I believe there is much to be argued for and against but it would be insightful to see perspectives from different expertise'
First, women - at least some women - can learn to shoot high draw weight bows. For example, in 1981, April Moon set a world record for women's flight archery by shooting an arrow 950.39m with a 120lb bow:
In this case, 120lb was more than her body weight. While this record still stands 40 years later, this record is exceptional for the distance, rather than the draw weight of the bow. Some women today shoot 100lb to 120lb bows, often surprising male archers who ask to try their bows.
Second, women have fought in battle and siege as archers. Some of the female samurai recorded as fighting in Japan did so as archers, during sieges. (Tomoe Gozen, the most famous Japanese warrior woman, was described as a powerful archer, but we don't know how reliable the stories about her are.) It was not that samurai women were more likely to use a bow than other weapons, compared to samurai men, but simply the case that the bow was one of the most important weapons. This 16th century artwork shows a mixed-gender group of Japanese warriors:
(whether or not the women would have worn their makeup in battle in real life, it's a convenient way for the artist to clearly identify the women in the painting).
About 20% of Sarmatian "warrior" graves appear to be of women, and the bow was one of their standard weapons. "Warrior woman" burials have also been found in Mongolia, with skeletal signs of extensive archery practice:
Some Western visitors to the Mongols noted with surprise that women would sometimes serve as soldiers, and Timurid women also fought on occasion. The bow was a standard weapon, and these women would have used it. Mulan was not unique. (According to the Ballad of Mulan, she served as armoured cavalry, and would therefore have used a bow, along with her other weapons.)
Without doubt, many women can learn to use traditional military bows, and historically some did so train, and some did so fight. However, the bow isn't a particularly attractive weapon for women. A high draw weight bow requires a lot of training to develop and maintain the technique and strength to use it, while weapons such as spears and swords don't need as much strength. Weapons such as mechanically-spanned crossbows and guns, packing a lot of punch at a distance and not requiring great strength, would be the ideal weapons to suit soldiers if strength is thought to be an issue. For example, the Dahomey "Amazons" were equipped with muskets:
In their case, the use of muskets wasn't due to any perceived lack of strength - just as the women noted earlier used bows because they were a standard weapon for soldiers, the Dahomey Amazons used muskets because they were effective weapons suitable for elite soldiers. They could and did engage in hand-to-hand combat effectively, as noted by European observers.
In summary, the relative lack of women fighting as archers in battle is just due to the relative lack of women soldiers. A high draw weight bow does demand more strength than most other weapons to be used effectively, but women could and did manage them.
