I want to be a policeman. There is only one problem.

I am an 18 year old Muslim girl with a passion for one thing: helping others. This has been central to my search for future educational opportunities.

That’s why I was overjoyed when I finally found a job that suited me. I discovered that I wanted to be a policeman.

There was just one problem, one I hadn’t anticipated. I never thought that what would stop me from having a career in the police would be that I chose to wear the hijab.

That in our modern society we exclude a whole group of people from certain professions cannot be right.

Neutrality

The prohibition of the hijab in the police services is justified by the fact that the uniform must be of neutral value and the same for all. This is not a rule specific to the Norwegian police. But we still see that many other western countries allowed the use of hijab in the police, and it went smoothly.

In for example parts of the United States, parts of Canada, in Sweden and on New Zealand is it already allowed to wear the hijab in all or part of the police, which they have done to improve recruitment among the immigrant population.

Furthermore, I believe it is wrong to say that religious headgear is not compatible with neutrality. As a religious person, one can always be professional when needed, headgear or not. Because what is the difference between a visible Muslim woman and an “invisible” Muslim man? Will the fact that I wear a hijab make a real difference in my work?

Positive effects

Appearing neutral is of course important, and I don’t pretend otherwise. But it is also important to point out that allowing the wearing of hijab in the police could have a number of positive effects.

First, policewomen wearing the hijab will be able to build trust in the police among minority groups. It is already a problem that people from a minority background have little confidence in the police, whether due to personal experiences or the situation in other countries.

Broader recruitment could help change that, as more people will meet someone they can relate to and who understands their point of view better.

Moreover, women wearing the hijab in the police would have had a preventive effect. Representation in important societal roles is extremely important for minority youth to feel part of society and can relate to government officials they meet.

Reflect the population

The police must reflect the population, which unfortunately they do not do today. Researchers from the Norwegian Police Academy and Oslo Met undertook in 2019 A survey students who entered the police college that year. Of these, 4% were of immigrant origin.

Surveys from 2017 also show that the proportion of police department employees with an immigrant background who had undergone police training was 2.6%.

Making the hijab permitted would help with wider recruitment and could help lower the threshold for people from all walks of life to join the police force.

Policewomen wearing the hijab would help to show, among other things, vulnerable people from minorities that there is a place and that everyone is accepted in our small country.

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