For all kinds of reasons people are religious. Some women find comfort in the bible, others were raised to believe it is true, some may be able to combine gender equality with religion by simply rejecting (not ignoring, but rejecting) verses of the old testament, etc. It's a too complicated issue to give a full answer and I'm to unwise to feel qualified to do it. It's kinda like why there are gay Christians and pro-same sex equality christians
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you