World Bulletin / News Desk

Canadian police services are in the early stages of developing a hijab prototype for female police officers. 

Although not approved at this time, the early police plans have looked at two prototypes for officers.

The first design is a black hijab with snaps on both sides for tear-away, with the second design featuring snaps running along the neckline, reported the Metro News. 

“Based off our tactics training unit testing it out […], we were figuring it would be easier for tear-away,” said Natasha Goudar, manager of equity diversity and human rights at EPS of the designs.

The police headscarf isn’t ready for officer use at this time, with officials explaining the need for further internal approval. An education strategy on the prototype would also be needed, said Goudar.

The hope is that with the necessary hijab for female officers as official police headwear, Muslim women would look at policing as a career and more women could be added to the police force.

“We need more women in policing period. Because of the diverse community we live in, Muslim women are part of women in Edmonton so if we’re going to increase the number of women in our organization, we need to be identifying the potential barriers that there are,” said Goudar.