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September 21st
Every day, before starting his shift at a government hospital in Singapore, Farah removes his hijab, the Islamic veil he has worn since he was a teenager.
Although Muslim women from minorities can freely use hijab in maximum settings in Singapore, some professions wear headscarves, and a recent case sparked a new debate about diversity and discrimination in the workplace.
Today, Farah has joined a growing number of Muslims, representing about 15% of Singapore’s 4 million citizens calling for an end to the ban, with a petition bringing together more than 50,000 signatures.
“I was told I couldn’t paint here if I used tudung,” said Farah, the local Malay term for the hijab, recounting his job interview two years ago for a physical therapist position.
“I felt a sense of helplessness, it’s unfair. Why is tudung an impediment to us looking for a job?” asked the 27-year-old, who used a pseudonym to worry about reprisals at work.
He eventually accepted the task, but had to take off his headscarf every time he was at work.
Farah’s case is a whim.
There was a protest last month when a woman asked to remove her hijab to paint as a promoter at a local branch.
Halimah Yacob, the country’s first female president to use the hijab, said there is “no room” for discrimination when asked her opinion on the case.
The store reversed its policy, but many turned to social media, noting that hijab clothing was still limited for some officials, adding police officers and nurses.
LIVELIHOODS
The hiyab debate is not new in Singapore, a fashionable city-state that prides itself on its multicultural and multiracial past. The country is basically of Chinese origin, many of which adhere to Buddhism or Christianity.
In 2013, then-Minister of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said dressing up with a hijab in it would be “very problematic” for some professions that require uniform.
The following year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the hijab factor involved “what kind of society we should build in Singapore,” according to local media.
Singapore police and the Ministry of Health responded to repeated requests for comment.
Referring to the case of branches, the President of Singapore said that discrimination in the office is “disturbing” because it deprives the user of his livelihood.
“People are evaluated only for their merits and ability to do a task and nothing else,” Halimah wrote on his Facebook, which attracted more than 500 comments.
“During this era of COVID-19, when employment and livelihood considerations intensify, incidents of discrimination exacerbate anxiety and others feel threatened,” he added.
splitted
Hijab has been a factor of division for Muslims around the world.
Many Muslim women cover their heads in public as a sign of modesty, others see it as a sign of female oppression, and in the Middle East, women face jail to avoid it.
In the conservative Indonesian province of Aceh, the use of a veil without a veil has been censored. In Malaysia, the Islamic government has surveyed an e-book about Muslims who refuse to use hijab.
But human rights activists in Singapore say they need Muslims free of choice.
These restrictions have hampered women’s employment prospects, especially when the coronavirus pandemic led Singapore into recession and fired, they say.
“Women deserve to be able to practice their faith freely without having to decide between having a task or practicing their faith,” said Filzah Sumartono, who is helping to execute Beyond the Hijab, an online page for Muslim women in Singapore.
“This challenge in Singapore is facing Muslim women, it is a strong discriminatory policy against Muslim women,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
identity
Others call for coherence, noting that turban, a headdress used by Sikh men, is allowed to paint in Singapore.
“Why the double standard?” asked Nur, a Muslim law student who signed the petition, who came online in June. You asked not to use your full call to your privacy.
The 22-year-old said her mother and sister, who paint as a nurse and a personal safety company respectively, are prohibited from dressing with a headscarf in the paintings.
He called on officials about the restrictions, saying that countries such as Britain or Australia had replaced the course, with disposable hijabs for nurses to deal with any hygiene problems.
“I am content that racial concord is very fragile, however, it is not just about detecting that these differences exist and living with them.
It’s much more than that,” said Nur, co-founder of Lepak Conversations, a group.
“It’s about knowing that there are these differences, accepting them and accepting the differences. “
Filzah of beyond the Hijab said restrictions can make it difficult for the workforce to enter.
“Some women don’t feel like a comfortable component of their identity just to make money,” she said.
“Having to impose this delicate selection on Muslims is unfair and unfair. ” Reuters
The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).