South Brisbane District police liaison officer Aulia Ibrahim wearing the NZ-designed police hijab as part of her uniform. Photo: Supplied / Queensland Police
A New Zealand-designed hijab, created after the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks, is breaking ground with its slick design deemed suitable for emergency services.
The hijab - which Massey University fashion designer Deb Cumming and fashion educator Nina Weaver spent 16 months creating for NZ Police, - has been adopted by Australia's Queensland Police, is being explored by Victoria's Police, and in trial stages by NZ Corrections staff.
It's designed to be breathable and antibacterial, with a moisture-wicking sports fabric.
Designers Deb Cumming and Nina Weaver say they had to consider a contoured fit so there was no excess drape that could be grabbed from anywhere. Photo: Supplied / Deb Cumming, Nina Weaver
Hato Hone St John and Wellington Free Ambulance have also put in orders for their frontline staff, and Corrections have been supplied some for prisoners too, the designers say.
"We've just been really excited that there have been so many people that have been interested in this," Cumming said. "It's just fantastic to think that we have created a product that is representing greater inclusivity and cultural diversity."
"Very few organisations had recognised that there was a need and have acted on that need. I think it's well overdue," Weaver added.
Safety was essential - NZ Police couldn't find a design from overseas that met their criteria, the designers said.
There were elements the designers never had to consider before: an easy release closure system at the neck, removing excess drape that a hijab typically has, and a style that worked with the rest of the officers' uniform, including communication devices.
Magnets and velcro were used as a safer alternative to pins, which are commonly used by Muslim women to keep a hijab stable, and a contoured fit was achieved with seams and panels around the curves of the head and neck.
Constable Zeena Ali wearing her uniform hijab. Photo: Supplied / NZ police
Constable Zeena Ali, 35, was the first to trial the design after seeking approval to, one once she graduated from the Unitec Pre-Police Course in 2020.
"I was standing in front of [the course staff member], with a hijab on my head, and this is after hajj (a religious pilgrimage to Mecca), and I said, 'I've just come back from the pilgrimage and I'm wanting to wear a hijab,' and he looked at me and he said, 'What's that?'"
She explained to a recruitment officer the traditional head covering, which is worn by some Muslim women for modesty.
"I think [the recruitment officer] became a celebrity in his own office because he just started getting all these emails, these phone calls like, 'Who is this person? We've actually been working to get a hijab in place, we just wanted someone to come in and trial it.'"
After 30 different samples were trailed and researched, as well as carrying out consultations with Muslim women. A final version was formally approved as an elective item of police uniform in November 2020.
Massey University fashion design lecturers Deb Cumming (left) and Nina Weaver received the Royal Society Te Apārangi's Tahunui-a-Rangi award for a unique and ingenious invention, for their NZ Police hijab design in 2022. Photo: Supplied / Royal Society Te Apārangi
Three years later, across the Tasman, Queensland Police were looking for a uniform hijab after liaison officer Aulia Ibrahim joined the South Brisbane District force.
The 31-year-old said she had been using her own hijab, but sought an official one because of the trouble of trying to match the colour with her uniform every day.
That's when she heard about Ali - New Zealand's first and only sworn officer wearing an approved hijab - and managed to secure a sample of the hijab via her department. It happened to match the colour of the Queensland Police's uniform.
"The next day, I was set, I didn't have to think about what I need to wear every morning anymore," Ibrahim said.
The NZ Police hijab has a gap for officers to thread a wire to stay connected with their in-ear communication devices. Photo: Supplied / Deb Cumming, Nina Weaver
"I love it, especially because we live in Queensland, it's really hot, [but the hijab is] breathable so it doesn't really get as hot. But I still get asked the questions [like 'aren't you hot?', but I'm like no, it's breathable and I'm like, trying to sell it basically to people who don't wear it."
When she speaks at schools, young Muslim girls surround her in surprise and awe, Ibrahim said.
"They love it because I talk about how it's made and the magnetic [button]. Everyone loves the magnets - obsessed with the magnets. I have a friend who's trying to get one of my hijabs off of me. I'm like, 'I'm not sharing, honey. It's for work'."
Ali said while there was still room to improve the hijab design, she was happy to see Muslim policewomen had suitable attire to go to work safely.
Ibrahim said younger generations need to see themselves represented to understand they aren't limited in career options.
The hijab design was named as one of the top 50 most influential projects in 2021 by New York's Project Management Institute and awarded the Tahunui-a-Rangi award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2022.
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