Comment by terminalhealth

Forcing women to wear veils is not oppression in the same way scolding a child is not oppression. Both have a measurably positive effect on social functioning (e.g. consider how weak modesty norms in the West are beginning to make Western culture rather uncomfortable to live in at times). Genital mutilation, on the other hand, is oppression because it is unnecessary; it does not improve the living conditions of anyone at all, but one could perhaps admit religious freedom in this regard as long it does not impinge on the rights of other people. Forcing people to align themselves with a system is not oppression because a system needs aligned people to exist at all. Though if you force them to unnecessary extent, then it becomes oppressive and what is happening in HK is probably oppressive unless my news sources are heavily biased.