I suffered a moderate-to-severe back injury while surfing when I was 19. It wasn't debilitating, but it regularly affected my quality of life and was healing very, very slowly (at the rate it was going, it probably would've taken 6-12 months to fully heal).

I began deadlifting twice a week, and within two weeks my back pain significantly reduced, and within six weeks my back had healed completely. I also felt much less back discomfort or pain from activities that would previous cause discomfort or pain in my lower back (e.g., sleeping on my stomach).

I think everyone (women included) who is physically able to should lift weights regularly. Not only for the primary benefits of getting stronger and looking better, but for all the passive secondary benefits that come with it: improved posture, permanently increased metabolism (6-10 calories per day per pound of muscle), reduced risks of osteoporosis, reduced likelihood of injury, etc.

The important thing is to lift consistently, heavy, and progressively lift heavier. It can be pretty intimidating for someone who hasn't done it before, so I recommend a routine like StrongLifts 5x5 or Phrak's variant of Greyskull LP to start. /r/fitness has lots of good info in its wiki.