A police constable, Zeena Ali is set to become the first officer to wear the hijab officially during duty in New Zealand. This is after the police introduced hijab into their official uniform to encourage more Muslim women to join the force.
New Zealand police added a hijab to its uniform.
Zeena Ali is the first officer to wear it, and helped design it. She says she began training as a constable in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks. pic.twitter.com/gV8J1juMfY
— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 18, 2020
30-year-old Zeena was inspired to join the force after the Christ Church terror attack last year where 51 people were killed at two mosques in New Zealand. Not only does she graduate as a police officer this week but she will also become the first Muslim officer in New Zealand to wear a police-issued hijab as part of her uniform.
Zeena also has worked with police to design a garment that is both functional for her new role and considerate of her religion. She said that she is proud to represent her community, particularly women. She said:
‘It feels great to be able to go out and show the New Zealand Police uniform hijab because I was able to take part in the design process,’
Zeena believes that she is a big inspiration to other women to apply to the police force. New Zealand Police said work to develop the hijab for its uniform began in late 2018 in response to a request from police staff who visited secondary schools.