Not all of the West considers the Hijab backwards, the ground reality is quite different and exaggerated. In general the West doesn't brandish the 'Hijab' as backwards, except a few, there are odds everywhere. This doesn't justify brushing the whole region under the same colour.
There are females in Hijabs who are liberated within successful fields such as news reporters (Ch.4), company managers, teachers, models (Somalian model promoting Kanye West's brand), activists, fashion shows (modest show), successful television presenters, Youtubers (Dina Tokia, Amina, Nabila Bee etc) firefighters (yes you read that right) and CEOs. These are liberated and celebrated women who break all stereotypes and embraced in society.
Interestingly enough I'd like to point out the following to confirm, much of this movement was supported by the Middle-East and Muslim Countries too. In addition incidents that led to the decision:
Ottoman prohibition of the burqa: A reader points out that the
Ottoman sultan gave the example of a burqa'ed man committing a robbery to ban the sheet-like apparel in April 1892. (November 19, 2012)
Amin al-Husseini escaped Palestine: Tipped off in July 1937 that the British police were coming to arrest him, the vile mufti of Jerusalem first took sanctuary on the Temple Mount for three months, then escaped Mandatory Palestine in October 1937 by putting on a woman's covering and sliding down a rope in the dark. He fled successfully to Lebanon where he resumed his pro-Nazi activities.
Iraqi irregulars in Deir Yassin: Troops from Iraq disguised themselves as women to enter the Palestinian town in early 1948.
Nuri al-Said failed to escape the revolution: Iraq's dominant politician during the period of the Hashemite monarchy tried to flee dressed in women's clothing in July 1958 but, the story goes, his shoes gave him away and he was shot.
"
Disguised gunmen try to free terror leader": For details of how three Islamist terrorists tried to spring their boss from a prison hospital by dressing as women in abayas, see my weblog entry, "
Saudi 'Counterterrorism' Efforts Fail Again." (June 9, 2004)
Burqa'ed commandos capture burqa'ed Al-Qaeda fugitive: On the plus side, a group of Pakistani commandoes disguised itself as women to wait out a ranking Al-Qaeda operative,
Abu Faraj al-Libbi. And why were they in burqas? Tim McGirk of
Time explains: "U.S. and Pakistani intelligence had received a tip that a suspected al-Qaeda operative would be traveling to [the town of] Mardan disguised as a burqa-clad woman. Because any plainclothesmen seen grabbing a woman would attract a hostile mob, the commandos had donned female garb and accosted the suspect as his motorcycle crossed a graveyard." (May. 8, 2005)
Afghan suicide bombers hides under burqa: Five Afghan soldiers were killed and four wounded when a
suicide bomber, whom the police think was a Taliban member, disguised himself as a woman and sat in the backseat of a car, then set off a bomb hidden under his burqa at an army checkpoint in Khost province of eastern Afghanistan. According to Mohammed Ayub, the regional police chief, "The bomber probably wanted to go into Khost city for a suicide attack there, but panicked and blew himself up when the soldiers started checking." (February 2, 2006)
Al-Qaeda leadership in Iraq:
Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, eluded Western forces over a three-year period through wiliness. In the description of Bill Powell and Scott MacLeod of
Time, "al-Zarqawi was a maddeningly elusive target—a master of disguise who could pass as a woman in a burqa one day, an Iraqi policeman the next." (June 11, 2006)
Oh and for the record, in some places hat are banned for CCTV issues such as Yorkshire.
Yet despite all this the removal of face veil is still a request. Not a law.