Muslim female healthcare personnel dress code: a proposed guideline
The struggle of Muslim women to comply with Islamic teaching while working in the healthcare sector has been a long-standing issue. Following the case of a Muslim nurse who was allegedly fired for non-adherence to the short-sleeve uniform rule, the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association highlight...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English English |
| Published: |
Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/67095/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/67095/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/67095/1/67095_Muslim%20female%20healthcare%20personnel%20dress%20code.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/67095/2/67095_Muslim%20female%20healthcare%20personnel%20dress%20code_SCOPUS.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/67095/13/67095_Muslim%20female%20healthcare%20personnel%20dress_WOS.pdf |
| Summary: | The struggle of Muslim women to comply with Islamic teaching while working in the
healthcare sector has been a long-standing issue. Following the case of a Muslim nurse who was allegedly
fired for non-adherence to the short-sleeve uniform rule, the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association
highlighted the need for a uniform guideline to prevent similar instances. Yet, no guideline has been issued
to date. Materials and Methods: This conceptual study employed library research method to gather relevant
materials. Library research was able to retrieve guidelines from seven Muslim-minority countries but none
from Muslim-majority countries. Document analysis of the materials gathered was undertaken. The different
guidelines were compared, with special reference to awrah-related issues. Results: Several major issues that
healthcare personnel dress code considers are the safety, health, cleanliness, and comfort for both patients
and healthcare personnel. Islamic dressing requirement is not only in line with clinical practice but Islam
also highly promotes maintenance of safety, health, cleanliness, and comfort. The widely adopted ‘bare
below the elbows (BBE) policy is the only practice that may contradict Islamic rules. However, some
healthcare institutions in Muslim-minority countries allow modifications of uniform rules on religious grounds;
some of the modifications are not observed in Muslim-majority countries. When providing direct patient care
that requires BBE, the use of disposable over-sleeves is a good alternative to adhere to both clinical and
Islamic standards. Conclusion: Healthcare personnel dress code policy that is concordant to both clinical and
Islamic standards is possible although it may require greater resources. |
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