I no longer want to wear the hijab.

To be a Muslim means to believe in only one God (the same God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them)) and obey him. This would mean living our lives in a way which pleases God.

Also, just to corret, Muslim women are required to cover their hair and body but only in front of men who are not our relatives (so basically whenever we go outside). We are not created in God's image. God is unique and no one knows what he looks like.

And yes, I disagree with homosexuality because God forbade it. If God has forbidden something, there is no questioning his decision. God is greater than us and knows better than us.

The decision to wear a hijab should always be yours, you should never be forced to wear a hijab. Forcing something on to somebody in the name of Islam is totally unislamic as in Quran itself it is clearly stated: " There should be no compulsion in religion" ( 2:257). Unfortunately some people do force their girls to wear hijab, because of their "honour" in the society (i.e. Somali society), but it is unislamic. Religion is a matter between you and God only, if you are not wearing your Hijab for Allah, then do not wear it for people.

I personally think a girl should wear a hijab when she personally feels ready for it, it is when she has reached that "advanced spritual state" in faith. What I mean by that is that the basic thing in Islam is the belief in the One God and the relationship with God i.e. Salah ( prayer). Once you believe in Allah and are close to Him you will really come to a stage where you would want do anything for Him. Every commandment in Islam has a reason, ultimately to our benefit.
Hijab comes as a result of that spritual connection with God, out of modesty. As someone who wears a hijab, I personally want to be recognized as a modest, God fearing person, not "available" to the other sex.
I know some girls who stopped taking the hijab. At first the "freedom" attracted them and they took off their hijab (not that I am against it), then they took another step and started drinking, then another step and left Islam, step by step reaching a point where they had lost that "inner peace" and security and totally lost themselves (I can say this only about the girls I personally know).
Sorry for the preaching I just wanted to try and clarify some misconceptions about why people have to wear the hijab. All what I am trying to say is that you cannot understand Hijab if you do not have that connection with God.

Also one little point I wanted to add is that Islam is not the first religion that commands the Hijab, original teachings of Christianity and Judaism also had the command of wearing a veil (worn only by nonnes nowadays), even some Hindus wear a vail as a sign of "modesty". I understand that people want to know why a girl would want to cover her beauty, but please do not (only) connect Islam with it.
If you have not turned Atheist yet I suggest that initially you do not talk to any other person about this except God, as it is a matter of faith. Ramadan is coming up in a few days inshAllah, pray that Allah makes easy for you whatever is best for you. I guarantee you that if you truthfully ask God or Allah, or if you believe that there is any supreme being, you will find the answer soon. Good luck

UPDATE:
So I've just returned from the meal. I didn't wear a hijab, and I'm really happy to say that it felt incredible. I felt really free.
The really sad thing is, of the six friends with me, only two supported me. The other four told me that I was insane, and that the devil must be possessing me. I laughed it off, but it did hurt.

I'm an 18 year old Somali who simply doesn't believe any more due to personal circumstances and researching more into religion and science.
Lately, I've been feeling like a hypocrite, walking around with a hijab on despite the change of my beliefs.
Two friends of mine have stopped wearing the hijab, but they're Bengali and their parents are less strict about covering up. I felt so envious of how much freedom they have.
I haven't told anyone that I no longer believe, as I'm too fearful of the consequences, but I know that I'm wearing the hijab for the wrong reasons. Religious friends have told me that they feel pride when wearing the hijab, but I feel nothing but frustration and anger at being restricted to show my hair. I fail to see why I can't show it - it's MY hair, I should be allowed to show it as much as I want, but it's not as easy as that.
The community I live in is very, very strict in terms of religion; I feel so emotionally isolated, and everyone seems to be so much happier than me.
The thing is, my whole family are devout Muslims who would surely kick me out if I dared to do such a thing.
This is genuinely getting me depressed; I don't know what to do. Can anyone help?

Often labeled as oppressive, many fail to realize that the Hijab truly empowers every female with the ability to control how she is treated and respected in society, her safety, and who deserves to see her beauty, all while making a statement against female exploitation. A woman who observes the Hijab is freeing herself of society's immoral and disrespectful expectations of her. A female who conceals her beauty has granted herself the power to say to the world "You know what? Everything about me besides my beauty should matter to you." If wearing miniskirts, low-cut tops, head- turning heels, and layers of makeup in public is the expectation without which a woman in incapable of stepping outside her house, then we have two very different definitions of liberty and self-respect.

All human beings demand respect, and why should we women be treated as mere objects valued or devalued for our beauty or the lack thereof? Why should we let all random and strange men (whether we are friends with them or not) be the judges of our attractiveness? Shouldn't we preserve ourselves for only those who deserve us?

And that is why Muslim women observe the Hijab.

Yes, I'm still living at home, though I'd love to move.
And they would react horribly,especially my mum. She would kick me out instantly, no challenge.

I go to a uni close to home, so there's not much choice.
Should I just wear it off for one day, and put it on the next etc? Or should I just take it off altogether?

I'm an 18 year old Somali who simply doesn't believe any more due to personal circumstances and researching more into religion and science.
Lately, I've been feeling like a hypocrite, walking around with a hijab on despite the change of my beliefs.
Two friends of mine have stopped wearing the hijab, but they're Bengali and their parents are less strict about covering up. I felt so envious of how much freedom they have.
I haven't told anyone that I no longer believe, as I'm too fearful of the consequences, but I know that I'm wearing the hijab for the wrong reasons. Religious friends have told me that they feel pride when wearing the hijab, but I feel nothing but frustration and anger at being restricted to show my hair. I fail to see why I can't show it - it's MY hair, I should be allowed to show it as much as I want, but it's not as easy as that.
The community I live in is very, very strict in terms of religion; I feel so emotionally isolated, and everyone seems to be so much happier than me.
The thing is, my whole family are devout Muslims who would surely kick me out if I dared to do such a thing.
This is genuinely getting me depressed; I don't know what to do. Can anyone help?

Often labeled as oppressive, many fail to realize that the Hijab truly empowers every female with the ability to control how she is treated and respected in society, her safety, and who deserves to see her beauty, all while making a statement against female exploitation. A woman who observes the Hijab is freeing herself of society's immoral and disrespectful expectations of her. A female who conceals her beauty has granted herself the power to say to the world "You know what? Everything about me besides my beauty should matter to you." If wearing miniskirts, low-cut tops, head- turning heels, and layers of makeup in public is the expectation without which a woman in incapable of stepping outside her house, then we have two very different definitions of liberty and self-respect.

All human beings demand respect, and why should we women be treated as mere objects valued or devalued for our beauty or the lack thereof? Why should we let all random and strange men (whether we are friends with them or not) be the judges of our attractiveness? Shouldn't we preserve ourselves for only those who deserve us?

And that is why Muslim women observe the Hijab.

I know some girls who stopped taking the hijab. At first the "freedom" attracted them and they took off their hijab (not that I am against it), then they took another step and started drinking, then another step and left Islam, step by step reaching a point where they had lost that "inner peace" and security and totally lost themselves (I can say this only about the girls I personally know).
Sorry for the preaching I just wanted to try and clarify some misconceptions about why people have to wear the hijab. All what I am trying to say is that you cannot understand Hijab if you do not have that connection with God.

UPDATE:
So I've just returned from the meal. I didn't wear a hijab, and I'm really happy to say that it felt incredible. I felt really free.
The really sad thing is, of the six friends with me, only two supported me. The other four told me that I was insane, and that the devil must be possessing me. I laughed it off, but it did hurt.

What about the men in Egypt who don't seem to respect the hijab and what it means and still insist amungst the violence to rape and assault women. There was an article in the guardian about a woman in a niquab (burka) who was gang raped while she was out with her husband.

Not only did they disrespect her but her marriage. Yet she wasn't dressed like a common prostitute, she wasn't enticing these men with her feminine wiles - she was just walking with her husband.

These weren't men they were dogs (which is an insult to dogs), they behaved like animals with no morality, so how do you expect them to understand the morals it stands for if they have no morals.

Wearing the hijab can't protect from such vile creatures of the world, if it did this poor woman would not have gone through what she did!

The difference is that nobody "expects" women to dress like that. They're free to dress like that or cover up with a hijab, on altering days, whatever they feel like. Enforcing hijab however takes away liberty.