Zeena Ali was working a customer service job at the time of the deadly mosque shooting that befell Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15, 2019.
At the time, she was helping a colleague enlist with the New Zealand Police. Following the tragedy that ensued, she herself decided to become a police officer in an effort to help out the Muslim community.
After graduating from Police College, Ali has become the first officer in New Zealand to don a police-issued hijab, designed to meet her needs.
Prior to graduation, the 30-year-old even worked with police, as well as students from the Massey Design School, to come up with the ideal design, fit for both her religious and work needs.
"It feels great to be able to go out and show the New Zealand Police hijab as part of my uniform," Ali told The New Zealand Herald. "I think that seeing it, more Muslim women will want to join as well."
According to Ali, the New Zealand Police really went out of their way to make sure the final design was absolutely perfect. "They came and visited me and we made tweaks to the hijab," she recalls.
Looking back at the Christchurch terrorist attack, Ali wishes she had joined the police sooner, so she could've helped out.
"If I had joined the police earlier I would have been down there to help," Ali said.
And speaking of needs, Ali fondly recalls how accommodating everybody at the New Zealand Police was with regard to her religious requirements.
"At college they had a prayer room and halal meals," she said. "When I had to go swimming they were ok with me wearing long sleeves."
In fact, diversity is one of six core principles of the New Zealand Police.
These other principles include professionalism, respect, integrity, empathy and commitment to Māori, and the Treaty of Waitangi.
"We need people with a range of skills, backgrounds, and experience levels – diversity is essential so that we can effectively serve the needs of New Zealand's communities now and in the future," New Zealand Police said.
Ali's batch of new recruits also have another thing going for them – female officers outnumber their male counterparts. 51.3 percent to be exact, with 48.7 percent of all graduates coming from non-European ethnicities.
"And we need more Muslim women to help in the community, most of them are too scared to talk to the police and would probably shut the front door if a man turned up to talk to them," says Ali. She believes this is one of the best ways to reduce crime.
This isn't the first time the New Zealand Police have introduced religious headgear into their uniforms.
In 2008, they officially rolled out police-issued turbans, with Nelson Constable Jagmohan Malhi becoming the first Sikh officer to wear it on duty.
Prior to then, he had to work without one.
Ali hopes that more Muslim women will join the New Zealand Police.
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Cover image sourced from New Zealand Police / Facebook.
