Interesting Twist on Hijab
From today’s Al Watan:
”Policewomen must comply with Islamic attire”
Al Watan staff
KUWAIT: In reaction to a statement by the Director General of Sheikh Saad AlـAbdullah Academy on policewomen”s uniforms, MP Mohammed Hayef noted that the current uniform requirements for female police contravene with the spirit of Islamic law as well as the Constitution, which guarantees personal freedom.
According to him, the announced uniform will ban policewomen for wearing a veil, even if they chose to do so.
The lawmaker reiterated his resolve to stand against the uniform to ensure that Islamic law is observed.
He also criticized the period during which policewomen will undergo training, arguing that 12 hours is too long for the female conscripts, considering their physical abilities.
Describing the training period as similar to hard labor, he called on the relevant authorities to reconsider their decision on this particular matter.
Last updated on Tuesday 28/10/2008
What do you think? I think that there are ways of covering your hair that are not inconsistent with being a policewoman. If the uniform forbids hijab, in my mind, that is as bad as the parliament requiring hijab, for the same reason – wearing hijab or not wearing hijab is a personal decision between a woman and her God. It is not to be mandated by state or mankind. Instead of getting into a big fracas about it, why not have a fashion-design contest to design a professional headgear that a covered woman could CHOOSE to wear as part of her uniform?
As to the 12 hours – well LLLLOOOLLLL! How many hours of hard labor per day do women put in with taking care of children, cleaning, shopping and meal preparation, not to mention family obligations? Working a 12 hour day training to be a policewoman? Piece of cake!
Women in all parts of the world are working as soldiers, police, fire protection, etc. They train as hard as the men, and they get the job done. Think of the female doctors in Kuwait, and the hours they work! Think of their sacrifice! Our estrogen issues are no more diverting and/or debilitating than male testosterone issues!
(thank you, thank you, I’ll get off my soapbox now)
21 Comments »
Leave a reply to nbq Cancel reply
Recent Comments
Catherine on Donna Leon Crossing Cultu… intlxpatr on Ignoring the Law thani on Ignoring the Law Anon. on British Soldier Kidnapped, Esc… Reeva Mills on Cahors to Bordeaux, Preparing… Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 
it will be cool to have female cops at last and you’re right 12 hours is nothing compared to what housewives are doing at home
I want to see lady firefighters!
It’s been done before:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Making-hijab-part-of-Victoria-Police-uniform/2004/11/26/1101219743263.html?from=moreStories
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-475574/Revealed-The-hijab-wearing-17-year-old-Muslim-girl-hired-community-police-officer.html
There are NYPD officers who wear hijab as well, but I couldn’t find a picture.
Any police department in the US who tried to prevent their officers from wearing hijab would have a civil rights suit on their hands in no time.
it says “veil” so perhaps he means the kind that covers everything upto or including the eyes.
he might have a point, if there was no fear of the law breaker using wasta and fingering them then they might enforce the law better than the men. ski masks worked in iraq for the male iraqi cops tackling insurgents 😛 .
You GO, Pearls!
Thank you, CozySister. LIttle irony that it is allowed in the US – but as Skunk points out, he may be talking about the niqab (face mask) which is totally different from hijab. Is niqab part of the Islamic dress code?
Skunk, I even have a problem with women in niqab driving, because of the peripheral vision problem. I cannot imagine niqab’d policewomen. It could put them at a disadvantage in a dangerous situation, and police handle dangerous situations all the time.
I think the uniform should simply be designed with a choice between headgear, so if a woman would prefer hijab she would be wearing an official uniform style. I don’t really see why that should be such a problem?
Scotland Yard gives muslim women the option to wear a (revolting) uniform hijab if they wish.
Full face cover would be suitable for the women’s special forces! 😀
Funny that the ”female weakness” card is always played when women want something, and totally forgotten when it comes to hard work and drudery at home or in unpleasant jobs….
best way to cover the hair is to SHAVE IT!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
No kidding, Aafke, Scotland Yard! Wooo HOOOO!
Q8Geek – I think nuns used to do that in the middle ages, and it certainly would work in the summer heat, wouldn’t it? But I like women to have a choice.
lol, i hadnt thought of that,… but yeah they already scare me on roundabouts, so guns might not be a good idea.
wait a minute… you mean, there’s policewomen in KUWAIT!? THATS HOT!!!
LOL, Skunk!
LLOOLL, Q8Geek – don’t you ever read the newspapers? They started recruiting women months ago!
but… but… women in police uniform?? i’ll be serious… i’ll be happy to get ticketed by a hot police woman… who knows it might end up with a date or something =P
and it’ll be a funny and really an interesting scene if a women pulled over an islamic extremist old man… =P
hahaha @ Q8GEEK!
KD1000 to the first woman to pull over a short dishdasha man!
For driving, it’s not just niqab that’s a problem; the men wearing ghotra are an issue too. If they weren’t so dangerous it would be funny…makes me think of the blinders we used to put on our horses to cut off their peripheral vision.
And the policewoman who pulls over a “short dishdasha man”? – it might be a very traumatizing experience for both of them. lol
indeed, a man adjusting his ghotra is worse than a woman applying lipstick,… atleast her eyes wouldnt be obstructed!
Q8Geek, stop! Stop! You’re cracking me up!
Skunk – Stop! Stop! You and Q8Geek are going to have to stand in the corner if you don’t start taking this a little more seriously! 😉
You know what, Daisy Mae, I hadn’t thought about that. Hmmm. I really laugh at all the gutra-primping that goes on in cars!
Skunk! Stop! You’ve been warned! Time out! LLOOLLLL
Q8GEEK: “best way to cover the hair is to SHAVE IT!”
Technically speaking, even if a Muslim woman does not have any hair on her head, conforming to Hijab is still required, as it is not conditioned on whether a woman has hair on her head or not.
From what I checked, there is no disagreement among scholars on this.
nbq, I have been told that once a woman is past childbearing, hijab is no longer required. Is that true?
Not if she’s still beautiful and capable of causing/being fitnah!
so britney has nothing to worry about 😛
That’s why she doesn’t wear hijab.
Or anything else….