Burqas are at least much sociological and cultural as religious. Are they symbols of oppression? Probably, but no more then the rest of their society.
We seem to forget that the burqa is only one of the more extreme forms of defining the sexes by appearance. Orthodox Jewish women wear wigs, orthodox men wear all sorts of stuff. Christian women wear frilly hats at Easter...
And, lest we forget, Western men are stuck in suits and ties while we might actually prefer a skirt and light blouse on a hot summer day. Pass on the heels and eye shadow, though.
Western women have the freedom to avoid 5" stilettos and extreme makeup, but they are still pressured to hit the hairdresser and browse the cosmetics aisles. Girdles and the other requirements for foundations have loosened, but spanks and bra sales are still way up there. Weight loss is somewhat of an obsession, and it has little to do with health.
As was said many years ago-- "On a first date, women have to be beautiful, but the guy just has to be clean."
And, as was exclaimed by a trans acquaintance of mine while she was exploring the drugstore, "Damn, this shit is expensive! Do I really need it all?"
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