Can a male cop search a females purse

My friend was pulled over in MN for driving with a revolked license, she was going to be arrested and the male cop searched her purse and found a small amount of drugs, there was no female cop there and no probable cause to search only that she had no license. Is this legal?

A few questions:

1. You mentioned that your friend was cited for driving with a revoked license; however, why did an officer choose to pull her over? (e.g., license plate visibility issues, wreckless driving, driving at night without lights, etc.) Please comment...
2. How did your friend react to the officer's questions?
3. Was it clear to your friend that she was going to be arrested before her purse was searched? If so, for what reason?

Just in general, it would be murky water if the officer had searched your friend rather than searching her purse (most precints usually call one of the women from their stations to conduct the search instead in these cases, just for precautionary measures). As the officer only searched your friend's purse, it's fairly certain that nothing was out-of-line, especially if the officer pulled your friend over in concern of substance abuse.

Brad