I often read threads like these and stay away, simply due to the fact that i think I won't be able to articulate how I feel.
Before I get in to the whole forced clothing, I pressed women etc I want to get across the point of religion vs culture.
Religion basically means believing in and worshipping a superhuman power (ie) a God.
Islam believes in Allah, Christianity the Holy Trinity etc. Everyone is obviously at different stages of their own religious journey. Some may describe themselves as liberal, and not really religious. Some describe themselves as being close to their faith, their God and prayers. You will find, the closer one feels to God the more modest they may dress or cover up more. Some Muslims believe that wearing a niqab/hijab etc symbolises being close to God in their eyes. Men are also to cover up and be 'modest' but in different ways. Covering the face I have to get across is not seen as a bad thing in religion or a sign of oppression. It's not seen as anything. I don't look at a person with niqab on and think anything different about her, whether that be admiration or pity, I don't think anything.
This leads me to culture. The Indian, Pakistani, Afghan, Iranian and many other cultures have ruined religion. They (usually men) years ago when men were the breadwinners and women stayed at home as homemakers took advantage of this and started to control their womenfolk. Over the years some people have become so brainwashed they believe these cultural followings to be religion. Yes they do force their women to cover up, yes they don't allow their women to go out for education, not marry who they want, heck I know some families who don't allow their daughters to leave the house for anything. It's a disgusting attitude to have. And some for reason in some families it doesn't change.
In Islam we are taught to respect our elders, but challenge them respectfully when they are wrong. Culture doesn't allow you to challenge your elders EVER. If the older beliefs are never challenged then where is the change.
I am a British born Indian Muslim. I am married, I work, I don't cover my head or face, I have a life and I live it. I will go to bars and parties with my colleagues, having a Diet Coke while they have a pornstar martini or two and be dancing away until the early hours. I do also pray my daily prayers. I do not class myself as religious or liberal. I am simply me. If I decided to cover my head tomorrow my colleagues and friends would not look at me differently. I am still me and importantly it would be my choice.
When you see a woman wearing a niqab please do not assume she is oppressed. Yes oppression exists, not in Islam, but in certain cultures oppression exists. Don't judge the religion, judge the culture these people follow. A poster above says she is being forced to wear a full face covering and doesn't want to. I would be interested to know which culture/country she is from as honestly that would explain it.
We (the ones from different culture or first generation British) have to be the ones to challenge the culture in our own families or things will never change. Do your research in to Islam and present these texts to your backwards families. If the wife of the prophet Muhammad was older than him, a widower, and business woman then who are the hell are these men who force their women to cover up and not go to work and mix with shock horror the opposite sex. It's a disgusting attitude but one we have to change with ourselves and our own children.
It's also tough when people lift scriptures from the Quran and ask for their meaning. Scholars for years have been trying to do this (in all religions and all scriptures) and I don't think I have the knowledge to try and understand or
Explain what certain things mean. Although happy to go away and do my research. The problem is, those scriptures were written at a different time and context so may seem wrong for now because the culture hasn't allowed anything to move forward.
Sorry I may have really waffled but I just want to get across, Islam hasn't ruined anything. Culture has. If a ban on the burka would come in to force, due to these backwards men, I honestly fear certain women would be housebound which is a scary thought. These men use culture under the guise of religion to force their narrow minded backward views on to their female family members but are so far away from what the religion teaches it's actually disgusting.