It's clothing! In this society, people are not required to start any sort of dialogue about the way they dress or the reasons for it. Whether a muslim woman wishes to wear the hijab or not is no more or less important on a societal level than if a black man wishes to wear his jeans so low around his hips that his underwear are clearly visible or if a fat woman wishes to wear a string bikini to the beach of if an old white guy wishes to wear a suit and tie. They are all a personal choice that could, but do not necessarily indicate any specific thing about that person or how they view their manner of dress on a societal/religious/political level.

Wearing the hijab or not is, 99% of the time, not a statement about human rights, it is a simple religious/cultural statement that could mean something different to every person who wears it.

Why is there a difference to you between women wearing the hijab and, say, women wearing long hair? Everything you have said about the hijab can be equally applied to the tradition of western women to wear their hair long. This is what is traditionally veiwed as feminine, attractive, normal. Women who wear their hair exceptionally short or shave it off completely are most often considered socially, if not unacceptable, then, at least, less than acceptable. They are considered boyish, unfeminine, unattractive, called lesbians, sometimes shunned and pitied because most people think they have no hair due to some disease, not out of choice.

I see absolutely no difference between the two customs. And quite frankly, I think both customs spring from the same sort of traditional religio-social requirements of separating that part of society (ie. women) out from the larger society, for pretty much the same purpose. Why not require the same sort of dialogue from American christians who do all those sorts of traditional, customary things too?

And, no, when I grow my hair long, it is not at all any of your business as to why I do that or how it relates to my feelings about human rights or whether or not it represents your feelings about human rights, just as it isn't any of your business why I shave it off, nor is it my responsibility to try to explain it to anyone else - American or otherwise.