Multiculturalism bad for women?

Though I am somewhat convinced that Okin is right to focus on individual rights of women in cultures where they have low status, I am also inclined to think that there are many issues we do not fully comprehend in our western liberal point of view. The issue of veiling is a huge point here--it has become in many respects a symbol of repression, ignorance, male dominance, etc. in much of western thought. The problem with this is that westerners have given the veil this meaning, when outside of this culture, it may mean something completely different. The Honig article brought up how "culture" is used as a scapegoat for why violence against women as well as their less than equal treatment has been tolerated. It is hard to believe that culture cannot be blamed for the treatment of women. It is frequently overlooked that in western tradition, women are treated unfairly in comparison to men. The Pollitt article discussed this a bit-- for instance in the 3 major monotheistic religions, there are cases of women being treated unfairly. There is no culture which is better than the other, rather they are all equally guilty of hurting/repressing women.
I have a hard time coming to a conclusion as to whether an egalitarian multicultural society could exist. There are probably a few things that everyone could come to agreement on to create universal rules that apply to everyone, but these things would be very basic--for example the right to live. But even that could be disputed. What would be even more hotly disputed is the status of women. In a multicultural society emphasizing group rights, women could be lost in cultural norms and restrictions. In a society emphasizing individual rights, women are still inherently unequal but are given the same legal responsibilities as men. Cultural and religious autonomy would no doubt be unstable in a situation where western ideas about feminism and women's rights are applied. I do think that certain steps must be taken to preserve the individual rights of women, for example the banning of female circumcision, mercy killings, child brides, etc. The problem is just trying to be culturally sensitive, while uplifting and empowering women at the same time. I think multiculturalism could be good because it gives a context in which to work towards giving women equal status while being mindful about the cultural traditions. I still don't think I have a firm enough idea of what the multicultural society would look like, or the correct cultural meanings of certain gender norms to make a good statement of whether multiculturalism is completely good or bad.