To Western Eyes - a different twist to the niqab?

Staying true to myself....I'm very interested in religious issues and women's issues. So, needless to say, the following story was of tremendous interest to me:
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/cairo-worried-over-growing-extremism-1.520905

I know women who wear the hijab (head scarf), I know women who don't. I know women who are Muslim, but you'd never know it by the way they dress. I know women who are Muslim who cover-up more in public than say the average 'westerner', but they don't wear a hijab or a niqab. Have I ever worn a headscarf? Certainly, but my hair still showed, and I didn't look nearly as stylish as many other women I know who do. But, it allowed me to maintain a certain level of modesty and anonymity traveling in places where seeing a woman with her hair covered was more the norm. When I have covered my hair, it's been for practical reasons rather than spiritual.

Coming from 'the West', I'm used to reading about women who feel oppressed by scarves and veils. I think this is the image that is usually portrayed 'in the West' about Muslim women. My personal experience in this region has been the opposite.

I guess that's what makes this particular news story so interesting to me. I do think it would be interesting to hear about how women involved in this news story feel/think about it.

Personally, I would find having my face covered to be very uncomfortable. But, that is a matter of personal choice and opinion, isn't it? For me, and again this is all opinion.....if a woman chooses to cover, she should be allowed. But, I (again opinion) do not believe that a woman should be forced to cover her head and/or face. I'm not trying to get into the religious implications with all this, just simply talk about clothing and personal choice.

As a side note, I've known Christian women who also cover their hair for religious reasons. Yet, I never hear word about that in the press. Why? No clue, but I find it interesting. Certainly stuff to think about.

Peace.