Here we have a very heteronormative (or as the typical #Spinster user would call it, "patriarchal") society, promoting activities that are deemed by many, especially sexists, to be masculine, namely education ("she will need brains") and physical strength and athleticism.
Not because the lines between men and women should be blurred, but because both of these things are beneficial to women as well as men, and should be done by both sexes.