Doctor fights 'jilbab' rule

Doctor fights 'jilbab' rule

BOGOR (JP): A woman doctor has balked at repeated warnings
from Karya Bakti Hospital to remove her Islamic headdress or be
fired.

"The hospital administration has always tried to make me
remove my headdress since I started wearing it in June 1999," Dr.
Yunida Ratnawati said after a hearing with Bogor City Council on
Thursday.

"I've received letters of notification from the hospital
administration, saying that I violated the hospital's regulations
and brought its name into disrepute."

Islamic doctrine dictates that Muslim women must keep their
bodies covered except for their hands and feet. However, there
are different interpretations on whether women are required to
wear the headdress, locally known as jilbab.

Yunida acknowledged that her headdress violated article 32 of
the hospital's regulations on the dress code for all of its
employees.

"The article has scared many other female employees, who
remove their headdresses during working hours," she said.

"I told the hospital director that it's against higher
regulations and also violating my basic rights. Instead, he
threatened to dismiss me every time I used the argument."

Yunida said she was the only employee rejecting the hospital's
requirement. She added she was ready to resign because her
husband had given his permission.

"But that's not the point. The management has been
discriminative and against the reform spirit," she said.

Hospital director Mismasdi Mihadi declined to comment after
the hearing, stating tersely "there's no problem at all".

The hospital's lawyer, Ostriana Osli, also refused to comment.
(24/nvn)