(CBC) The interim editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Thursday said the publication is formally retracting a letter it ran about hijabs that many have slammed as Islamophobic.
Kirsten Patrick’s announcement comes days after she posted on Twitter, apologizing for the letter, which called the religious head scarf “an instrument of oppression.”
“I sincerely apologize on behalf of the CMAJ for my error in publishing the letter,” Patrick said in a statement on Thursday. “I take full responsibility for the inadequacy of editorial process.”
The letter in question, written by pediatric surgeon Dr. Sherif Emil and published on Monday, argued that a recent CMAJ cover that featured a young girl in a hijab was misguided, and that it perpetuated an often traumatic and harmful practice.
