All
Muslim women police officers will be allowed to wear traditional headscarves as
part of an initiative in London to boost recruitment from black and Asian
communities.
The
Metropolitan Police, which is first police force in the UK to permit the hijab,
is designing a black and white chequered headscarf which will replace the hat
or cap this summer among the force’s dozen or so Muslim officers.
Muslim
women cover their heads in public as a symbol of their religious beliefs and
modesty and being unable to wear the hijab has been identified as a reason for
their reluctance to consider the police force as a career.
Mohamood
Mahroof, of the Association of Muslim Police, said, "The Association
welcomes the Met’s decision to introduce the hijab as an item of uniform for
Muslim officers. This will now make Muslim women who do wear a hijab eligible
to join the Met. We hope many current and future officers will benefit from the
change."
The
initiative called Protect and Respect: Everybody Benefits was launched
at a conference in London, which was attended by about 500 delegates.
Sikh
officers are already allowed to wear turbans and the Met is considering whether
to allow potential recruits from the Rastafarian community to have dreadlocks.
The Met has been told by the Home Office to increase
the number of ethnic minority officers from 4.1 per cent to 25 per cent by
2009.
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