Royal Canadian Mounted Police Adds Hijab to Official Uniform Options

According to Statistics Canada, the northern nation is home to more than 1 million practicing Muslims.

[Photo Credit: Steve Russell/Getty Images]

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) just added a new option to their official uniform, and it’s not what you would expect. Muslim RCMP officers may now opt to wear the hijab on the job.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told the Toronto Star that the recent adjustments to the RCMP uniform were done in an effort to reflect and respect Canada’s multiculturalism. According to Statistics Canada, the northern nation is home to more than 1 million practicing Muslims.

“The objective will be to demonstrate that the RCMP is a progressive and inclusive police service that values and respects persons of all cultural and religious backgrounds,” Goodale said in a statement.

This is not the first time the RCMP has made adjustments to its uniform in response to the diversity of its officers. Thanks to a petition from officer Baltej Singh Dhillon in 1990, the RCMP changed their policy to allow Sikh officers, such as Dhillon, to wear a turban as part of the uniform.

The new RCMP-issued hijab has gone through safety testing and is designed to fit underneath the police’s traditional soft-top caps. Representatives from the RCMP have expressed hopes that the new uniform option will not only accommodate the practices of current officers but also help attract Canadian-Muslim women to the force.

The news comes at a time when clothing related to the Muslim faith is the subject of heated debate. In a move that garnered global scrutiny, numerous towns in France attempted to ban burkinis—full-body bathing suits often worn by Muslim women—from their beaches. The controversial regulations were backed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who referred to the garments as, “the enslavement of women.”

France’s highest courts have since overturned the municipal bans, saying that they violate people’s fundamental liberties. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke out against the burkini ban, highlighting the need for “the respect of individuals rights and choices.”

Though hijabs are now an official option for on-duty officers, so far, no members of the RCMP have chosen to wear one.