what is defined as "making women powerless"? Men represent power and seperateness while women relationships and belonging. Why women so obsessed with power? Women need belonging and security. No power will give them that. "your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you". "To the law and to the testimony"
Discussion
1) Not every woman is called to marry. Law and culture should account for that.
2) Obedience is not something limited to wives or to women. Nobody in obedience should be powerless or spend all day "merely following orders". Subsidiarity is a worthy goal, everywhere.
3) Good husbands love their wives and help them form a sound conscience and grow in wisdom and knowledge, so that their wives can be a trusted steward.
4) Wives married to tyrannical or oppressive men run away or are grateful when their husbands die. Be the sort of husband who will be missed.
We should also not take "represent" too exactly. It is not a sharp separation, but a tendency to the one or the other.
What woman does not want to make some decisions on her own? What man does not want to have relationships or comfort?
Humans are complex and should develop fully. The sexes overlap, to add redundancy, because mothers and fathers can be away or die prematurely. This means that each sex should learn some of the talents and abilities of the other. Anything else creates brittle family structures and too-greatly limits human potential.