It’s a proud week for Malaysian women. First, we had an inspiring graduate as the student keynote speaker in a prestigious university in the United States, now, another Malaysian woman has invented the United Kingdom’s first disposable sterile hijab!
Photo: BBC News
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Farah Roslan, a junior doctor at UK’s Royal Derby Hospital, got the idea while she was a medical student with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust.
She told BBC News that the idea came to her after she was “respectfully” removed from the operating theatre due to concerns of an infection caused from her hijab.
“I’d been using [the same headscarf] all day which obviously wasn’t clean and ideal,” she told BBC Radio Derby.
“I didn’t feel comfortable taking it off and I was pulled out from the theatre, respectfully, due to infection control.” she added.
Photo: BBC News
Farah also took examples from home to find the right materials and fabric as she was determined to find a middle ground between her “dress code due to faith” and the “passion” of working in an operating theatre.
The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust said the new headscarves will available to use in the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust operating theatres for the first time ever, earlier in December. However, Farah hopes that her invention will be endorsed nationally for the comfort and ease of many Muslim women doctors in the same predicament.
Farah’s story made international news and many took to social media to congratulate her:
Remember the name; FARAH ROSLAN, and she is our very own MALAYSIAN! ❤️🇲🇾🌺
— AzrinMySihat (@Azrin02560697) December 18, 2019
BBC News - Royal Derby Hospital: Disposable sterile hijabs introduced https://t.co/nA1LL3acCC
LONG overdue. A friend of mine who i was on placement with who wears the hijab was left in tears after theater staff said "you cant wear that in here" and laughed as they tried to wrap her head in theatre sheets, i felt so so sorry for her 😔 well done Farah xx
— Jessica Harvey (@Jessica_harv) December 18, 2019
Well done Gill, thank you for taking this forward. #inclusion @UHDBTrust @gavinUHDB
— Imran Bhatti (@ib9994) December 11, 2019
Way to go Farah! We’re very proud of you!
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
