Police Should Not Delay Use Of Hijabs

Yogyakarta, Dec 6 (ANTARA) - Police should not delay the use of hijabs (headscarves) by policewomen only because of budgetary and design constraints, a study center head said. "Wearing hijabs is an obligation of Muslim women. So, there should be no obstacles for policewomen to wear hijabs," Ane Permatasari, the head of Women Study Center of the Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University, said on Thursday. The National Police chief has allowed the use of hijabs for policewomen but its implementation is delayed pending a decision for its uniformity. Permatasari said that budgetary constraint should not become a reason to delay the use of hijabs by policewomen. If budgetary constrain is taken as a reason, it could take time or even the permit could be forgotten or being lifted later. "The 2014 budget for government agencies has been issued this month. If the National Police wants to propose a budget for hijabs, it can only include the proposal for the 2015 budget, so it will take a long time before policewomen can wear headscarves," she said. Besides budgetary problem, the design of the hijab for policewomen has also become a reason for delaying the use of the headscarves. "It is an exaggeration to delay it for a design reason, questioning the uniformity of colors, models or the number of buttons," she said. So, she said,the National Police should implement its decision to allow policewomen to wear headscarves because it is part of human rights. The Chairman of Indonesia`s Ulemas Council (MUI) Amidhan has also said that the decision of National Police Deputy Chief Commander General Oegroseno to delay the use of headscarves by policewomen was an exaggeration. "The delay of permit for policewomen wanting to wear hijabs is an exaggeration," Amidhan said. He also expressed fear that the delay in granting the permit would spark a reaction to the decision. "I have often stressed that wearing hijab (for women) is an obligation in Islam," Amidhan stated. He further noted that the decision to delay the permit to wear hijabs was groundless. If the reason was that wearing hijab violated the uniformity, why not create official hijab uniformity? If the reason was budgetary, the policewomen were ready to use their own money without burdening the government, he said. "If the problem is getting the approval of the House of Representatives (DPR), why don`t they take it to the DPR?" the MUI Chairman asked. He pointed out that Article 29 of the country`s 1945 Constitution stipulated that the state should guarantee the freedom of each citizen to embrace any religion and perform religious rituals based on his or her religion and faith. "If the permit to use headscarves has to be delayed, there must be an explanation about the deadline and as to when policewomen can begin wearing hijabs. It can`t be that no regulations have been issued regarding the matter until now," the MUI chairman said.