CAIRO, Egypt (CNN)  -- There's more to wearing the "niqab" -- the austere, all-covering veil favored by ultra-religious Muslim women -- than meets the eye. Cairo University students wearing niqab stand outside a university dormitory on Oct. 7 unable to enter due to the new rules preventing admission to niqab wearers. A recent declaration by a leading Egyptian cleric that women will not be allowed to wear the niqab in university areas frequented only by women has sparked demonstrations by female students in Cairo determined to wear the all-encompassing veil wherever they go. Egypt's Al-Azhar university, the highest seat of Sunni Islam, recently convened an all-male committee to rule on what women can wear at Egypt's public universities.
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Recent ban on wearing the all-encompassing veil sparked demonstrations
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Ban of the veil, known as the "niqab," seen by many as attempt to counter extremism
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Increasing number of young Muslim women want to cover themselves
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No consensus among Muslim scholars on covering up
Since the 1960s the shaikh of @placeholder has been appointed by the Egyptian president.
Outside @placeholder, some women go without any head covering at all.