Sociology

Every culture whether religious or ethnic has customs and traditions that normally include wearing of a traditional dress that often symbolizes or identifies that culture and tradition. In this paper, I will demonstrate that the wearing of hijab is more than just a religious tradition or a cultural expression. That in the case of Muslim women, Hijab has been an important part of dressing which not only distinctly identifies them but it also reflect their thoughts either on their religious experience or on some social settings they deemed offensive to them. I will further demonstrate that though it is really not a form of dress but simply a head covering or literally a head scarf, yet it is part of the burqa or the traditional Muslim women dress that convey an important message to the current situation.

Main body of the essay
In writing this essay, I will be particularly looking at how Muslim women regard the wearing of hijab especially those with higher education or are educated in non-Islamic institution. Using current literatures and articles I will determine their thoughts and feelings on the subject. I will also consult what their religious book say about it and how their religious leaders interpret them in the context of modern culture.

Among the materials I will be consulting is a document titled Kuwaitis MP Refuses to Wear Hijab in Parliament. This paper highlights the view of an educated Muslim woman constitutionalist from Kuwait regarding the wearing of full body covering. Partly, she argued that Kuwaits constitution stipulated freedom of choice and equality between sexes (Kuwites MP Refuses to Wear Hijab in Parliament, anon, n.d.).

On another side, one of the theories that I will analyze to construct a view on this subject is the theory that in Western culture women are object of mens gaze rather a subject. This theory will shed light on the issue as it seemed to bear a connotation that relegates women as the object of mens desire. By implication, it pictures women as a sex symbol. In connection to this, I will look at what Muslim women feminist say about the issue. Careful analysis of feminist theory regarding the wearing of full body coverings will further enhance the understanding of the subject and will strengthen my view when writing the actual essay.

Another material that will have to be consulted is a thesis titled Wearing the Hijab An Argument for Moderate Selective Acculturation of the Newly Immigrated Arab-American Women written by Janet Roberts. In this paper, Robert (n.d.) argued that Islam never oblige women to wear full body coverings. According to him, There has never been an Islamic obligation for women to cover at any time. In fact, veiling the face is an innovation that has no foundation in Islam (Roberts n.d. pp. 9-10). In view of this categorical statement, I will find out whether ordinary Muslim women are aware that Islam never requires them to use hijab to insure full body coverings. If in case they are aware, I will ask them what they thought about wearing too much garment.

To reflect a balance opinion, Read and Bartkowskis (2000) work titled To Veil or not to Veil shall also be consulted since their work reflects a critical evaluation of the negative stereotypes about the Muslim women (Read and Barkowski 2000 397. Their work features the thoughts and feelings of both the ordinary and intellectual Muslim women. In view of all this information, writing the actual essay will not be difficult since the direction towards the intended outcome is clear. That is to provide a balanced opinion regarding Muslim womens use of hijab in order to insure full body covering. There might be other materials that could provide further knowledge on the subject but that might be used on the actual essay. 

Conclusion
Given the findings above there are quite a number of literatures that can help generate concrete opinion on the subject. In the mean time, it is quite apparent that wearing of hijab for most of the Muslim women are more than just an observance of religious duties imposed on them by the Islamic tradition. It is more than a simple cultural expression as it apparently involves choice and freedom in the context of the current social settings, and a personal conviction. In short, the wearing of hijab is more than just a performance of religious tradition. or cultural expression.