Hijabs now part of the official uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The red-uniformed Mounties are part of Canada's national identity

(Getty)

Muslim women serving with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, have been given dispensation to wear a hijab while on duty.

The change is meant encourage diversity in the ranks of the so-called Mounties, who normally don a uniform that dates all the way back to the 1800s and includes a felt Stetson hat, the government said.

The outfit, which easily distinguishes the Mounties from other types of police officer and is regarded affectionately by many Canadians as a symbol of patriotic identity along with the maple leaf on the national flag, also includes leather riding boots and red serge tunics.

While the Mounties themselves were informed of the new policy at the start of this year, it was only formally unveiled by the Ottawa government this week.

It will be seen as Canada taking a stand against islamophobia and setting itself apart from other countries that remain politically uncomfortable with Muslim members of the community making their own choices about what kind of clothing attunes with their faith in which circumstances.

In particular, France is currently in tumult over the issue after a court in Nice on Monday upheld a ban on so-called ‘burkinis’ - a full body swimsuit chosen by some Muslim women when visiting the beach - on the grounds that they offend some non-Muslims and exacerbate tensions between the different faith communities.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on Tuesday dismissed the notion of the country ever imposing a ‘burkini’ ban. “In Canada, can we speak of acceptance, openness, friendship, understanding? It is about where we are going and what we are going through every day in our diverse and rich communities,” he was cited as saying by AFP, the French news agency.

The RCMP first relaxed its uniform requirements in 1990 when it granted Sikh officers the right to wear turbans instead of the Stetson hats. That too was a step taken to boost recruitment. There are roughly half a million Sikhs in Canada, with the largest number in and around Toronto.

There have been roughly 30 recent cases of RCMP officers asking for some relaxation in the uniform rules, mostly men asking to wear beards again in accordance with religious tradition. There have as yet been no women stepping forward to take advantage of the hijab provision.

RCMP officers stand in silence during the regimental funeral of three slain officers at the Moncton Coliseum on Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Thousands of police officers from across Canada attended the funeral for Fabrice Gevaudan, Douglas Larche and Dave Ross, the three Mounties killed by a gunman on June 4, 2014. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Andrew Vaughan)

According to local media reports, the RCMP tested three different variations on the traditional hijab and eventually chose the one that was least likely to interfere with the women officers carrying out their duties while at the same time being comfortable.

The decision was approved by the RCMP commissioner and confirmed in a statement from a spokesman for the Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale.

“The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recently approved this addition to the uniform,” Scott Bardsley said.“This is intended to better reflect the diversity in our communities and encourage more Muslim women to consider the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a career option.”

The RCMP is hardly the first to alter its stance with regard to head scarves for Muslim women. The metropolitan police forces of Toronto and Edmonton, both in Canada, had already given the green light for the hijab as have forces in several US states. They can also be seen worn by female police officers in London, Sweden and Norway.