My younger son who is studying in Australia did fencing in his secondary school days in Hong Kong. In September 2018, my wife and I flew to Gold Coast to support his swordsmanship competition. When we met, I was surprised to see him wearing traditional Japanese-style clothing and carrying a bamboo sword - actually doing Kendo, literally "sword way"!
While my son's team were all men, I noticed that other teams were mixed with men and women. Competitions started and ended with respectful bows, showing gratitude to each other; and a male combatant did not necessarily have an edge over a female one."What a gender-neutral sport!" I immersed myself in watching the strikings and hearing the shouts.
Later, I asked my son about the goals, rules and norms of Kendo. He explained that the concept of Kendo was not based on physical strength, but the application of the right technical skill and mental attitude. The opponents were actually the enablers, facilitating a combatant to do better and to realize his or her potential.
Comparing the practice of Kendo with law, I think that the legal environment (primarily the exercise of the mind) facilitates the system participants to interact on equal basis. It would therefore be wrong for anyone to run any gender-biased activity, presupposing inequality. Meanwhile, I realize my son's swordsmanship has risen to a higher level!