A police officer, who helped design a new uniform hijab for Police in North Yorkshire, a non-metropolitan county in the United Kingdom, said she hopes it will inspire other Muslim women to join the force.
Uzma Amireddy, a positive action coordinator, said the hijab given to her by North Yorkshire Police was uncomfortable, did not look good and was potentially unsafe in hostile situations.
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She said: “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. That’s why I took it on myself.”
After she took the issue to her chief officer, Arfan Rahouf, who is the force’s operational lead for faith and belief, got involved in the development.
Rahouf said: “It looks professional, it looks smart, it’s safe, she feels beautiful in it, she feels comfortable, she feels valued by the organisation because they’ve provided it and it’s just something that represents her faith.”
Now the pair are hoping the hijab might be taken up by forces more widely.
Rahouf said: “We’ve been invited to have conversations nationally to see if this can be incorporated as a standard hijab with police forces across the country.”
North Yorkshire Police commended the two officers, saying they had “worked really hard” to “make this important change happen.”
A spokesperson said: “It’s really important for North Yorkshire Police to make sure that the uniform for each and every police officer is fit for purpose.
“Inclusion and diversity is a key agenda for the police service. We need to be more representative of the communities we serve, in order for us to be an inclusive workforce and deliver a better service to all of our communities.”
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