During my first semester here at NYU Abu Dhabi, I realized that many people were curious about my hijab, and my first thought was to write about it. I had written about it many times before, trying to get my perspective through to people, so why not now? Then I realized that whatever I wrote would not be alone in the Articles about Hijab category, and so I put it off for a while.

Being here for only a fraction more than one semester, I have noticed that the hijab has taken up much more attention than called for. At the end of the day, it is a religious symbol and an article of clothing — I haven’t seen this amount of attention given to the Quran, Bible or the Bhagavad Gita; I also haven’t seen this amount of attention given to skirts, suits or ties.

I never thought the day would come when I would actually shy away from reading about the hijab, which has been in my life for seven years, whether it be a positive or a negative piece. Whenever I find an article about the hijab in a publication at NYUAD, I instantly cringe. I don’t feel comfortable knowing that there is a possibility that every step I take in this school will be analyzed and questioned just because I wear a scarf around my head and cover my body.

The problem is not with each individual article — quite the opposite. I appreciate that, although I have always lived in a Muslim country, I have gained a greater perspective about the hijab when I came here. The scrutiny demonstrated by the excessive number of articles is problematic. I can’t seem to shake off the feeling that the hijab alone is being analyzed and looked at, without looking at the person wearing it. Assumptions are then made about the person wearing it, just because they have a scarf around their head.

The hijab is a religious symbol and a cultural issue. However, it does not differ from other religious symbols and cultural issues. I just really wish I could go back to walking around this school without thinking about every person’s reaction — or lack thereof — to the garments I wear.

I realized that no matter how many articles we write, read or share, no matter how many statistics and facts we analyze, we will never truly understand the hijab. Why? Because it is personal. The fact that it is so widespread does not mean that it means one thing to everyone, or even two things. The fact that it is so widespread does not mean that everyone who wears it either is in love with it or was forced to wear it and hates it. It is so much more than that, but at the same time, it is so much simpler.