The ban on tudung for Muslim women working in uniformed sectors such as nursing in public health institutions could contribute to the loss of local talent in such fields, said the Singapore Democratic Party’s Damanhuri Abas.
In a Facebook post on Sunday (21 Mar), Mr Damanhuri, who contested in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC in last year’s general election, narrated the story of his sister, who emigrated from Singapore after working as a nurse at the Singapore General Hospital for more than a decade.
“She and her husband were both nurses. She worked as a nurse in SGH from 1992. She had to make this hard choice and painful decision after coping for many years as a nurse removing her tudung to observe the dress requirements imposed on her,” he said.
Abiding by the tudung ban in her profession, said Mr Damanhuri, was “a daily sacrifice for an honest income to perform her professional role as a nurse”.
“She had believed and waited for many years that the policy would change but was disappointed,” he added.
Eventually, his sister and her husband took up Australian citizenship — a move branded by Mr Damanhuri as a loss for Singapore.
“On this note, I personally reach out to our Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to seriously consider this view and feedback I share and relook the policy,” he said.
Mr Damanhuri also noted that he has “decided to also explore the legal route” in pushing for the tudung ban to be reevaluated.
“At least, I know I will have exhausted all means possible here. I will seek help and advice from members of the legal fraternity whom I will be approaching to move this forward.”
“I also humbly hope for the understanding and support from everyone in Singapore for this effort I am embarking on, regardless of race or religion,” he said.
Mr Damanhuri highlighted the plight of Muslim women who are faced with a difficult choice between having full freedom to practice their faith and to secure employment amid “a dismal job market”.
“All the while, we patiently acknowledged the reasoning given to continue this discriminatory policy against our womenfolk who wanted to be a nurse or had nursing as their passion.
“They diligently observe the uniform by having their headdress removed in order to work, even though it is against their belief. Also, those waiting to be one, should they now know that they will be allowed to wear their tudung as part of the nurse uniform,” he lamented.
“Even if it does not want to budge from its core reasoning, surely it must have some sympathy to bend it somewhat to cater to those who sincerely do seek employment in the health sector,” Mr Damanhuri added.
Lifting tudung ban for nurses in public healthcare could expand local pool of nurses, says Workers’ Party MP Faisal Manap
Minister-in-charge for Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli on 8 Mar reiterated the Singapore government’s secular stance on the issue of allowing Muslim women to wear the tudung in uniformed professions such as nursing and the police force.
The sensitive nature of such issues necessitates “closed-door discussions” and consultations with the community, said Mr Masagos during a debate in Parliament on the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth’s budget for Muslim affairs for the upcoming financial year.
Aljunied GRC and Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (MP) Faisal Manap had earlier asked the Government whether it would reevaluate its ban on the religious headgear for women working in uniformed services, stating that the rule has prevented many Muslim women from taking up such roles.
Allowing nurses to wear the hijab at work, thus, could expand the local pool of nurses, he illustrated.
Mr Masagos in his response said that allowing the donning of the tudung “would introduce a very visible religious marker that identifies every tudung-wearing female nurse or uniformed officer as a Muslim”.
“This has significant implications: We do not want patients to prefer or not prefer to be served by a Muslim nurse, nor do we want people to think that public security is being enforced by a Muslim or non-Muslim police officer.”
“This is what makes the decision difficult and sensitive,” said Mr Masagos.
It would be difficult to achieve compromise under the weight of “public aggressive pressure”, which is why a closed-door approach must be maintained when discussing such matters, said Mr Masagos.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, Maliki Osman expounded on Mr Masagos’ views on the Government’s secularist standpoint, saying that uniforms are meant to project neutrality and a common identity.
In the case of nurses and other public healthcare workers, he said that a uniform “underscores” the concept that such professionals “provide impartial care regardless of race or religion”.
He also cited the opinion of Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, the grand imam of the world-renowned Al-Azhar University, who had advised Muslim women to not leave their jobs solely out of being prohibited from wearing the hijab due to workplace requirements.
Mr Faisal had asked why opposition MPs such as himself are not included in closed-door discussions concerning such matters.
Dr Maliki replied that “whether Mr Faisal Manap participates in these sessions or not, I think the most important thing is a large segment of the community has been consulted and we continue to consult them”.
Mr Faisal highlighted that Muslim policewomen and nurses in countries like Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are now allowed to wear the hijab in their respective countries while serving.
Mr Masagos responded that there are “many things that other countries do that we do not do”.
“We are Singaporeans; we will do what is good … If you want to do something that they like, we must also then do what we don’t like that they do. I don’t think we want that either. We do what is good for us, our community, and our nation,” he added.
RDU’s Liyana Dhamirah questions Govt on how many tudung-wearing women were represented in its closed-door meetings
Earlier this month, Red Dot United Party’s Liyana Dhamirah, a Muslim woman who dons the hijab herself, questioned how it is possible to hold the government accountable if it would not answer for its policies in Parliament, particularly “a policy which affects a significant number of minority women” such as the tudung ban in uniformed professions.
In a statement on 9 Mar, she also questioned — as an individual who has a vested interest in the matter — how many tudung-wearing women were represented in the government’s closed-door meetings, and if so, what percentage did they comprise.
“I agree with RDU’s suggestion that our Government commissions surveys and dialogues to gather the people’s views on how Singaporeans feel about Muslim women wearing hijab in public sector uniformed offices which currently prohibit it. I am certain there can be a way forward that opens up these job opportunities for more Singaporeans,” said Ms Liyana.
Any discrimination involving prohibition against wearing the tudung “a serious violation” of right to equality, special provisions for Malays as S’pore’s indigenous people: Lawyer M Ravi
Human rights lawyer M Ravi highlighted that any discrimination involving the prohibition on wearing the tudung is “a serious violation” of Article 15(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right of every person in Singapore to “profess and practise” their religion “and to propagate it”.
It is also in violation of Article 12, which guarantees equality, he added. This must be seen side-by-side with the “non-discrimination of Sikhs wearing turbans”.
Article 12 also prohibits any discrimination in public office on the grounds of race or religion.
Mr Ravi added that Article 152 guarantees the special position of the Malays and their culture and religion as the indigenous people of Singapore, which consequently means that the government has a duty to uphold the constitutional rights of Malay-Muslim women who wish to wear the tudung.
Prohibition of tudung in frontlines of govt agencies, public schools continues to be a mainstay in S’pore’s policies
The Singapore government, to this date, prohibits the wearing of headscarves by students on public school grounds.
Nearly two decades ago, three primary schoolgirls were suspended from their respective schools for continuing to wear their tudung to school despite previous reminders against doing so.
Following the schoolgirls’ families’ decision to sue the Singapore government over their daughters’ predicament at the time, lawyer Sadari Musari told Reuters in April 2002: “The directive given by the Ministry (of Education) to the school principals not to allow these three daughters, school children to put on their headscarves—it’s unconstitutional.”
The schoolgirls’ suspension sparked a heated Parliamentary debate on the right of Muslim girls and women to wear the hijab in Singapore’s public schools, and on a larger scale, the Republic’s frontlines of government or government-linked offices, as seen with Muslim female police officers and nurses.
Mr Faisal, during a motion on the “Aspirations of Singapore Women” on 4 April 2017, called upon Parliament to “not exclude Muslim women who wish to fulfil their career aspirations in line with their religious obligations”.
Citing countries that have permitted Muslim women serving in uniformed organisations to wear headscarves such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Mr Faisal questioned as to when Singapore would move to do the same for the Home Team and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
“As a Singapore Muslim, a husband as well as a father to a daughter, I appeal to the Government to make into reality this call for inclusiveness that is often heard in this Chamber,” he added.
Mr Masagos, in response, branded Mr Faisal’s approach “worrisome”.
“He [Mr Faisal] has used this motion, which is focused on the aspirations of all women in Singapore, to raise again the issue of the tudung, to focus on differences instead of rallying people to be united.
“He dwells on issues that can injure or hurt the feelings of the community rather than to inspire them. In fact, Mr Faisal Manap has used many occasions to raise potentially discordant issues in this House,” Mr Masagos retorted.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a Facebook post later rebuked Mr Faisal’s move to raise the issue in Parliament.
“WP MP Faisal Manap brought up the tudung issue again. Minister Masagos Zulkifli challenged Mr Faisal and explained why this was unwise. He spoke with courage and conviction.
“Championing divisive issues publicly, to pressure the government and win communal votes, will only stir up emotions and damage our multi-racial harmony,” he said.
Changes to the status quo should be introduced over time rather than “being pushed for in terms of rights and entitlements”: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on tudung issue
In 2014, TODAY reported PM Lee as saying that it has always been within the Government’s policy to ensure that racial and/or religious minorities in Singapore are able to practice their culture and creed as freely as possible.
However, he opined that changes to the status quo should be introduced gradually and broadly rather than “being pushed for in terms of rights and entitlements” at the expense of the Republic’s national harmony.
In response to questions regarding when the Government will be ready to allow Malay-Muslim frontline officers in public service to wear the headscarf, Mr Lee said: “You never arrive. Over the last ten years, we have gradually moved. Nobody has really noticed.”
Mr Lee also noted that there had been an increase in corporate officers working for statutory boards who don the tudung.
“I think that’s really the way to go … This is not the sort of thing where you want to put all your attention on this item and measure the progress of, either racial relations or the progress of the Muslim community based on this one item,” he added.
More recently, President Halimah Yacob said in Aug last year that discrimination “of any form and against anyone has no place at all in our society and, most certainly, not at the workplace”.
“People should be assessed solely on their merits and their ability to do a job and nothing else. Discrimination at the workplace is particularly disturbing because it deprives the person affected from earning a living.
“During this COVID-19 period when concerns over jobs and livelihoods are greater, incidents of discrimination exacerbate anxieties and people feel threatened.
“Diversity is our strength and our society has already embraced it. I hope that employers too will fully embrace diversity at the workplace and do their part to uphold the values of a fair and open society,” said Mdm Halimah.
Tudung is the Malay word for hijab, an Arabic term that means “barrier”. It is a “headscarf” or “veil” often worn by Muslim girls and women to cover their hair, necks and chests as a means to demonstrate piety to God.
Mainstream interpretations of Islamic dress code suggest that the hijab is only obligatory for Muslim girls upon reaching puberty, which usually takes place in their early- or mid-teen years. However, some Muslim parents enforce the tudung on their daughters at an earlier age.
There are also many Muslim women who begin wearing the hijab past puberty out of their personal will after making a personal hijrah — a form of spiritual migration or transformation.
