This is actually quite an interesting paper which depicts buddhist women in a different light. It shows powerful and accomplished lay and monastic figures from Thailand between 1880 to 1950. I thought to share with you.
Orality, Memory, and Spiritual Practice: Outstanding Female Thai Buddhists in the Early 20th Century. Martin Seeger. Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. 2014.
PDF can be found here:
http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/download/91/111