Edmonton Police Approve Newly Designed Uniform Hijab for Female Officers

The Edmonton Police Service has approved the option for female officers of Muslim faith to wear a police-issued hijab headscarf while in uniform.

The hijab covers the head and neck, but not the face, according to a press release issued Friday.

“EPS respects a Muslim woman’s choice to wear the head scarf,” the statement reads.

“The Edmonton Police Service continues to change with the times, as have a number of police, justice and military organizations in western nations that have already modified their uniforms to accommodate the hijab.”

The police service doesn’t currently have any members or applicants requesting the hijab, but Soraya Zaki Hafez, president of the Edmonton chapter of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, believes some women may now consider being a police officer, where before they did not.

“This makes Muslim women part and parcel of that community,” Hafez said. “To be accepted, I think it’s a great feeling.”

“Regardless of race, culture, religion, or sexual orientation, it is important that anyone who has a calling to serve and protect Edmontonians, and passes the rigorous recruitment and police training standards, feel welcome and included in the EPS.” said Kevin Galvin, EPS Superintendent representing the Chief’s Muslim Community Liaison Committee in a release.