Hijab once more

A friend from the US emailed me his response to my postings on the hijab. With his permission, i'm reprinting parts of it here. Well worth considering his thoughts:

...it might surprise you that many people in the US would agree with everything the author stated. The only difference would be that it would be pointing out that often the wearing of the Hijab is something that is done for the same societal and family pressures that she complains compel women to do things like shave their legs, put on make-up, etc.

What it boils down to for most people here is freedom of choice. Societal pressures certainly influence that choice, and that cuts in both directions. If a woman doesn't shave her legs here, or wear makeup, it's really not all that uncommon, and their friends and family won't try to compel her to put on makeup or wear a certain kind of clothing. People here don't really care what people wear; if she enjoys wearing the Hijab, more power to her!

The issue really isn't whether wearing a Hijab is good or bad (I think it can be either, depending on the situation); it's whether women can choose to do one or the other. I dare say a woman choosing to wear a Hijab in Canada would probably fare better than a woman choosing to wear a tank top, skirt, makeup, etc. in Saudi Arabia.

I'll tell you this, one thing I've found the more I travel: people are more similar than they are different. The differences tend to get exaggerated in one way or another (generally due to ignorance). People are really pretty much the same the world over.