(CTV) A recent letter published in a leading Canadian medical journal has stirred up debate — and controversy — around the hijab and prompted calls for a full retraction.
On Dec. 20, the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a letter, with the headline “Don’t use an instrument of oppression as a symbol of diversity and inclusion,” responding to the journal’s use of an image last month of two young girls, one of whom is wearing a hijab. The image accompanied an analysis on social interventions in primary care.
Penned by Montreal pediatric surgeon Dr. Sherif Emil, the letter says he respects the choice of women, including those he has interacted with, to express their identity as they desire, adding that the harassment and discrimination some women experience for choosing to wear the hijab is both “real” and “wrong.”
