Well... Noin might not be the best example there, because while she's an incredibly strong, kickass character, her relationship with Zechs is, um... kinda... unequal. To say the least -_- I mean -- Noin sacrifices her place as best in the class for the sake of Zechs' ego, which doesn't really read to me as "standing up on her own without a man".
no subject
Though I still love her XD