As more Muslim women join police forces, hijab has become a part of the police uniform in different countries.
Yet, when Pc Uzma Amireddy joined North Yorkshire Police, she could not feel comfortable with the hijab she received with the uniform.
Therefore, she decided to design a new one, hoping to inspire more Muslim women to join the force.
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“If you want to attract people from diverse backgrounds they have to feel and look good in their uniform and something like that certainly will put people off joining,” she told PA news agency, Asian Image reported.
“That’s why I took it on myself.”
She took the issue to her chief officer, Pc Arfan Rahouf, who helped her to find a good and safer alternative.
Pc Rahouf said: “It looks professional, it looks smart, it’s safe, she feels beautiful in in it, she feels comfortable, she feels valued by the organization because they’ve provided it and it’s just something that represents her faith.”
With the new hijab, Amireddy believes more Muslim women will be willing to join the force.
“A friend of mine was in the pipeline of joining the police force and when I told her and she’d seen the hijab and she tried it on, she said ‘you know what, I’m really happy with this,’” she said.
“So for me, that was my proudest moment – that I’ve made a Muslim female happy with joining the police force.
“She doesn’t have to face those obstacles and barriers that I had to.”
Success Stories
Muslim women success stories are growing around the world, with more women achieving glory and breaking records while preserving their religious beliefs.
Earlier this month, Zeena Ali made history, becoming first Hijabi police officer in New Zealand.
In 2016, Turkey allowed female police officers to don the hijab.
The move followed an earlier announcement by Police Scotland which declared hijab an optional part of its uniform to encourage more female Muslims to consider policing as a career option.
Similarly in Canada, the government announced in 2016 that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police would allow its officers to wear hijab as part of their uniforms, in the hope of boosting the number of female Muslim recruits.