Here's another CORRECT fact about Egypt: prostitutes wear a hijab, too. Wouldn't want to get mistaken for one of those...
It is a personal choice, and for me, it stems out of what someone I love has suffered. My Coptic boyfriend, his friends and his family have experienced a lot of injustice in that country.
When his sisters were in high school, some fundamentalist a$$holes threw acid on them for not covering. Luckily, they ran away in time and only got hit on the legs, and those religious freaks didn't know anything about the shelf life of some acids or how to make correct solutions. They got away with damaged jeans and some minimal scarring.
Right now, someone in my bf's family has been involved in a car accident. The Coptic defendant and his family are being constantly harassed to pay exorbitant sums (10,000 USD) and convert to Islam to avoid being tried in court by the Muslim plaintiff. They have yet to find a lawyer willing to charge the original plaintiff with extortion.
I have heard countless stories from him, and countless stories from people I've met from his community. There are more stories of forced conversion, rape, arson, murder...In most cases, perpetrators go unpunished. Those who speak against get punished.
Also, I have mentioned it before, but maybe the severity of the situation wasn't understood: a Coptic boy will get in trouble for merely holding the hand of a Muslim girl. I wouldn't be surprised if merely walking with one wouldn't get you in trouble. If people in the street don't get him first, the police will. That girl will get in trouble, too, but the boy is the one who will get beaten and thrown in prison for supposedly trying to convert a Muslim girl.
I cannot wear anything on my head as I am spending my time with him. I don't condone PDA in countries where the Muslim Brotherhood exists, but people could safely assume that we were a couple.
But imagine he weren't there and I assume the role of a Muslim girl. What if some unassuming Coptic boy wants to get me out of trouble and takes my hand? He would get in trouble for that. What if some malicious Coptic boy gropes me? He would get in much more serious trouble than a Muslim boy. I can't bear to think that I got someone in more trouble than they deserve only because I pretended to be part of some religion that I am not.
This injustice in Egypt was born out of religious fundamentalism. Increased pressure for women to wear the hijab was, too, for that matter. I don't think
any religious fanaticism is worthy of respect.
To respect Egyptian culture, there are things to consider other than one religion.