REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives' Commission III Almuzzammil Yusuf has expressed regret over the National Police's decision to postpone the implementation of hijab (headscarves) for policewomen.
"Hijab for policewomen is a matter of human rights and protected by the Constitution's Chapter 28E, Article 1," Almuzzammil Yusuf said on Thursday.
"After seeing that it violates human rights and the Constitution, it should be corrected. It should not be postponed. It would be wise to allow policewomen wear a hijab while waiting for the issuance of a decree (on the hijab for policewomen)," he noted.
Budget was not an excuse for the police to postpone the implementation of hijab wearing because every policewoman would be happy to spend her own money to buy a hijab for her uniform, like the ones in Aceh or the model 61 as suggested by former National Police Chief General Timur Pradopo, Almuzzammil Yusuf stated.
"Budgetary constraints are not that big. The Commission III will support such an allocation in the State Budget 2014, so that it can be implemented. There is no need to wait until 2015," he said.
He also disagreed with the statement of Deputy Police Chief Commissioner General Oegroseno, where he had said that whether policewomen should wear the hijab or not was an internal matter of the police department.
"The Deputy Police Chief's statement is baseless," he noted.
The hijab being worn by policewomen was an international trend that had been honored by countries, such as Britain, Canada and Sweden, he added.
National Police Chief General Sutarman had confirmed the postponement of the practice recently, saying that a uniform headscarf for all policewomen had to be decided upon first.
"There are issues with the color of headscarves they are now wearing. But I have received a lot of support with regards to the decision to allow policewomen to wear headscarves. This means that actually there is no problem. The problem is how to make them uniform," Sutarman explained.
Meanwhile, Sutarman had also agreed that it was one's right to wear a headscarf.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika