Across the globe, Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab have been breaking into various key sectors, from firefighting such as Amber Von Grat, who became known as Canada’s first hijabi firefighter, to the police force such as that of UK where Muslim team members are allowed to wear their headscarves and have even has special, loose fitting uniforms made for them.
This has been no different in the healthcare sector, and now one Muslim woman has created a way for female healthcare professionals to continue doing their work comfortably while putting their patient’s safety first.
Doctor Farah Roslan, a junior doctor who works in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, has introduced disposable sterile headscarves for hospital staff to use in operating theatres. According to BBC.com, Dr. Roslan had the idea while she was a medical student with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust following infection concerns related to her hijab.
Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, she said, “I'd been using [the same headscarf] all day which obviously wasn't clean and ideal […] I didn't feel comfortable taking it off and I was pulled out from the theatre, respectfully, due to infection control.”
The young doctor, who is originally Malaysian, turned to her country for inspiration, testing and designing different headscarf solutions with various fabrics until she came up with something that she was happy with and that presented a middle ground between ‘“dress code due to faith” and the “passion” of her profession.’
The new headscarves have not yet been introduced nationally but have already been made available at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust.
"I'm really happy and looking forward to seeing if we can endorse this nationally," she said.
