Continued...
I know that the above doesn't answer the initial question, “... how is it that any woman follows the Catholic Faith?”
I don't know. I've never been able to understand why people who are clearly despised by a particular religious order feel that it's the one for them. I find it truly bizarre that a woman, knowing that the Catholic Church sees her as nothing more than a mere vessel for carrying babies, would want to join the ranks.
It's the same for homosexuals. I've read many articles by people who start by saying something along the lines of, “... I realised that I was gay and I didn't know what to do about it, so I joined the Christian / Islamic faith to try and make sense of it all...”, and who are then 'shocked' by the level of intolerance shown to them.
It's a radical idea but shouldn't all religious buildings have to have a huge neon sign above their entrances which state, “Alert! Massive prejudices await within Do not enter without first looking into what we believe. You have been warned” ?