i'm sorry for yr loss.
as for the public frowning on women or girls who decide to remove hijab well thats true. i know 5 girls who removed it this year and they were faced with a lot of immature opposition which then fades off. one of these girls is a very good friend of mine who i've known for the past 7 years and when she told me she removed it i told her not to let any one pass judgement at her and if they did she should ignore them and not try to explain bec its sth strictly personal!!
it should be noted though: the reason for these 5 girls removing the hijab are strictly reasons to do with not being able to honor the commitement that comes with wearing the head veil and not bec they dont agree with it or its code. which in my opinion is different than them not recognizing its importance.
the veil is not an evil thing at all, but it has to be done the right way. a girl cant wear a veil and wear a mini skirt for instance!!! and yes i've seen this in cairo and it was a horrible scene

this is an example.
sadly the veil has become part of tradition and not part of a religious way of life and hence a lot of girls decide to get veiled for the wrong reasons.