THIS is one the reasons I stay away from anything produced by 99.9 % of movie makers. Remember that what is on screen in Jackson's Hobbit, not Tolkien's.
There ARE truly powerful female character in Tolkien that again the films flubbed.
I would esp Varda, whom the Elves call Elbereth Gilthoniel, the Star Queen of old, the closest thing Middle Earth has to The Blessed Virgin and Mother Mary.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, esp LWW, Aslan specifically tells Lucy and Susan they are NOT meant to go into battle. Strictly a rearguard and defensive position at best.