it is well established that Buddhism was the first to have a "female leadership" in its clergy, the Sangha. By this, I refer to the bhikkhunis who are equals to bhikkhus in many ways, primarily,
1. in their capacity to attain arahatship and nibbana, and the recognition of this capacity.
2. receive alms and veneration from lay-followers, just like the bhikkhus.
3. provide guidance and conduct teachings of the Buddha.
By allowing female disciples to be ordained as bhikkhunis, the Buddha was far ahead of his times.
Subsequently, we have the Therigatha attributed to the prominent bhikkhunis. In China, there are also multiple records of bhikkhunis' lives and works in the form of bi-qiu-ni-zhuan (姣�涓�灏间�).
However, we are also aware of the eight garudhamma rules, which somehow place the bhikkhunis on a "lower tier" than their male counterparts. Is this a special case of a gender bias?