The Indian Weekender, 13 November 2020

12 NEW ZEALAND
Police-issued hijab
for new graduate to
pave way for more
Muslim women join
Friday, November 13, 2020
The Indian Weekender
the force
RIZWAN MOHAMMAD
A
new graduate from the Royal New
Zealand Police College who received
police-issued specially designed hijab
as a part of the uniform says it will pave the
way for more Muslim women to join New
Zealand Police.
Zeena Ali, Fiji-Indian descent New Zealander,
says she was delighted to have received such
a welcoming and inclusive approach of New
Zealand police who have incorporated hijab to
be worn by her on duty as a part of her Police
uniform.
Hijab is a headscarf worn by Muslim women
as a part of their dress.
To get the gear right making sure the hijab is
both suitable for police work and comfortable
to wear, New Zealand Police worked with
Massey University’s School of Design.
Now Constable Zeena Ali trialled several
designs of the hijab and made recommendations
for improvements before she started her police
training, and further tweaks were made during
the recruit course.
Speaking with The Indian Weekender, Zeena
said it was time that young Muslim women
living in New Zealand think about joining the
force and the newly officiated hijab as a part of
the uniform will encourage Muslim women to
take up police work as their career choice.
Zeena was working in a customer service
role at a mall in Auckland and donned the hijab
earlier in 2019 as a part of her dress.
Post-March 15 Christchurch mosque attacks,
Zeena contemplated joining the force as there
were little to no representation of Muslim
women in New Zealand Police.
Zeena, along with her husband, went for the
Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca last year and decided
to join the police once back from her trip.
On donning the newly issued hijab, Zeena
says it’s time that more Muslim women think
of joining the police force and bring more
diversity to reflect the changing demography of
New Zealand.
“Wearing a hijab on the job will encourage
more Muslim women and remove barriers if
any, for them to be a part of the police services,”
Zeena said.
Zeena also told the Indian Weekender how
during the training there a lot of inquisitiveness
amongst her fellow trainees about the hijab
was, its significance for a woman in Islam.
“A lot of the fellow trainees didn’t know
about the hijab, and it was good to share more
information about it and what it means for the
person wearing it.
“There is a dearth of knowledge amongst
"There Kiwis and the general nonis
a dearth of Muslim community,
knowledge amongst and I think we need
Kiwis and the general to create more
non-Muslim community, awareness about
and I think we need to hijab and its
create more awareness
about hijab and its
significance."
significance,” Zeena
added.
Speaking more about
her collaboration with
Massey University’s School
of Design pertaining to the design of the hijab,
Zeena says it was easy to work with the design
team from the school making adjustments to
the hijab.
“Police’s focus has always been on making it
[hijab] work well for me,” Zeena said.
Seventy-six new cops have completed their
training and have graduated from the Royal
New Zealand Police College this Thursday.
A release from NZ Police said that over 50
per cent of the graduates are female (51.3 per
cent), while nearly half the wing (48.7 per
cent) are of ethnicities other than NZ European
– for instance, Māori makes up 25 per cent
of the wing.
ARJUN SUPERMARKET
wishes everyone a very Happy Diwali
Arjun Indian Supermarket: Fresh Fruit & Vegetables
Market, Frozen Foods Store, Grocery shop. Visit us and feel the
difference. One stop shop for all your grocery needs.
Phone: 0800 707 080 | Address: 5 Rankin Avenue, New Lynn, Auckland