Pc hopes her hijab will encourage other Muslim women to join police
A POLICE officer who helped design a new hijab as part of her uniform said she hopes it will inspire other Muslim women to join the force.
Pc Uzma Amireddy said the hijab given to her by North Yorkshire Police was uncomfortable, did not look good and was potentially unsafe in hostile situations.
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 – Pc Arfan Rahouf, who is the force’s operational lead for faith and belief, got involved in the development.
They sourced one from a local supplier and suggested alterations, including a detachable head and neck, so if someone were to grab and pull it, it will not
pull around the neck. Pc Amireddy wore the hijab on the streets for the first time on Monday and felt it had been a success.
She said: “I don’t want to be singled out. I want people to see me as a human being and a person doing the job that they love to do.
“And they saw me as a police officer on the doorstep, not as somebody from a Muslim background and that’s what I wanted.”
Now the pair are hoping the hijab might be taken up by forces more widely.
Pc Amireddy said a friend who was joining the police force had tried the hijab and liked it, adding: “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.”
North Yorkshire Police commended the two officers, saying they had “worked really hard” to “make this important change happen”. A spokesperson said: “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.”