P.S: I would not (cannot) stop them playing; however, there are several things in life more important than sports. Those who are calling this a positive step towards female empowerment are deluding themselves; the only forces in work here are the typical pakistani attitudes, coated in and shaped by religious influences, which can be summarised by a set of female-lego's running around in scarfs inside a glasshouse with an opaque outer shell as the prepetually horny male attempts to break his way in, tongue dripping and eyes gleaming with desire and all.
Haha, yeah, I was so deluded about the forces at work here that I specifically mentioned them.
Sometimes I wonder how people think change is enacted. In my teens I probably would have had a similar stance to yours, and I still refuse now to treat all cultures as if they are merely different, yet equal, but the older I get the more pragmatic I get. Because ultimately, to me, practical results and liberalisation are worthwhile goals that can (practically!) be spread fairly effectively if somebody is allowed to open the door. You obviously have to draw the lines somewhere because some conditions ARE unacceptable, but when an interlocuter is willing to make concessions to be more like the rest of the world (which is exactly what Pakistan is doing here, as clearly, they have been unwilling to host such an event in the past and indeed, they only had their first national womens' championship only two years ago), I believe it pays to keep that process alive rather than turning our backs on it.
Zimbabwe is an example where I am unequivically against engaging them in terms of international cricket - because, amongst a myriad of other reasons that I've outlined in quite a few posts on the subject here, we would simply be giving Mad Bob exactly what he wants (and has always wanted), completely under his conditions, with no concessions granted or behaviours promised. In that instance, clearly it's less important to play cricket there than make a stand over important principles.
IMO, this is different - this is a situation where Pakistani cricket is prepared to host an event they have not been prepared to before, and they are willing to make some concessions (such as how the women are able to be dressed) in order to do so (I don't know how contentious having males officiate the game is, but the article seems to imply it wasn't entirely expected). This is how change works, a door is opened, and somebody takes a step through. You may have a different opinion, but I hardly think that seeing this as a positive step for womens' empowerment is a delusion. Certainly the captain of the womens' team (who appears to occupy a position in the organization of womens' cricket in Pakistan) appears to see it as important progress for womens' cricket's status in the country, and a way to promote a more moderate image of Pakistan as a participant.
