TORONTO — The RCMP recently permitted its women officers to wear the hijab. The RCMP Commissioner recently approved the addition to the uniform to allow Muslim women to wear the hijab, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale’s spokesman said Wednesday. Scott Bardsley said it is intended to better reflect the diversity of Canada and to encourage more Muslim women to consider a career with the force. Related“The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is a progressive and inclusive police service that values and respects persons of all cultural and religious backgrounds,” Bardsley said in an email. The change in Canada is in contrast to France where at least a dozen towns have banned body-covering burkini swimwear favored by some Muslim women, the latest skirmish in a long-running duel between some members of France’s large Muslim population and the secular establishment.

Source: National Post August 24, 2016 15:50 UTC