"Yes, individuals decide to wake up one day and cover their faces. no influence from anyone else. The argument some of your interlocutors are making is that this is not a free choice in the sense that it is imposed through a discriminatory and patriarchal set of socio-culture norms. "

Yes, well, you could say that about any religion.  No Orthodox Jew woke up one day and decided on his own that sidelocks would be a good hairstyle.  Ultimately, you have to allow people some agency.