Well the thread has drifted away from the burkha thing to equality, but still i'll like to add my opinion.
First we need to understand the definition of equality, equality doesn't mean that if a man can eat 5 chapatis so all the women must also be given 5, despite the fact that they might not be able eat even 3.
Equality doesn't mean that if women wear colorful printed clothing, men should also be given the same option or as the men wear sober, single colored cloths so should the women also.
Equality doesn't mean that if men can survive in a particular cold environment with one jacket so the women are also asked to survive the same cold in the same clothing.
Men and women are made different and thus behave differently and act differently, they have different needs and requirements.
i wonder why a women always long for jewelery but men dont. why a rose to them can win their hearts but to have the same effect on men you might have to replace the rose with a heavy bike, a sports car or a gun.
Now, i dont mean that men and women must be discriminated, no never, they have equal RIGHTS not equal NEEDS. Yes both need a shelter to live in but their designs are different, both need a bed to sleep but a man may not be comfortable with the size of a bed on which a women might fit.
i dont want to mention anything about have gents and women washroom separated. But yes they both need a washroom.
Equality means that both men and women be given equal opportunities for study, women must not be stopped from studying more as done in certain cultures.
Equality means that both men and women be given equal pay scales when they work the similar jobs.
Equality mean that if men can roam out so an the women, but i being a Muslim will have some restrictions, like going out late night, going out alone, etc etc, but the thing is that they should be allowed.
As for the equality in terms of biology and its effects, everyone knows that the women has those 'certain' days, and they are not comfortable, so imagine the toil and her decision making ability in those days. Imagine a she has to make war decisions and ends up screwing it. Compare it with if you had a terrible headache and you are asked to debate with someone, you'll definitely say screw the debate give me some aspirin.
Women give birth not men, any of you who are married must be knowing about the conditions and the difficulties a women can have during the entire period of pregnancy. Imagine a boss asking a pregno to give the same output as she did when she was Ok, so equality means that they must be sent home on whether you call maternity leave or something else.
So they are different and are to be treated differently, i don't why you tend to be more humble and respectful while addressing to women as compared to men? But this doesn't mean that these to species should be discriminated, one being given all the privileges and the other being banned from even asking for them.