Is There Any Market For Disposable Sterile Hijabs?

Do Muslim doctors, nurses, and other health care workers need disposable headscarves to be used in operation theaters? In other words, is there any market for disposable sterile hijabs in hospitals?  Well, a junior Muslim doctor in the UK thought so while training at the Royal Derby Hospital. She expressed her fears that there may be an increased risk of infection due to her traditional hijab while working at the operation theater.

What is a Disposable Hijab?

A disposable hijab is a headscarf Mulsim women can use once and then dispose of it. The idea of a disposable hijab was first given by a Malaysian medical student working in a hospital in the UK.  This is especially useful for women working in the middle profession.

Muslim hijabs have become quite popular in the world lately. Many companies in different parts of the world have started offering various styles of hijab to cater to the varying needs of Muslim women.  However, perhaps the first time, we have heard about disposable sterile hijabs. By looking at the news published on www.bbc.com, it looks there could be a huge market for disposable sterile headscarves not only in the UK but also in other parts of the world.

But, before discussing the marketing aspect of the concept, let us get to the story first.

A junior Muslim doctor from Malaysia, Ms. Farah Roslan, seriously thought of a need for a disposable sterile hijab while training in a UK hospital.  Her instructors told her that they had concerns about the infection her hijab may cause as she was wearing it throughout the day during her training sessions.

“I’d been using the same headscarf all day which wasn’t clean and ideal,” she told BBC Radio Derby.

“I didn’t feel comfortable taking it off and I was pulled out from the theatre, respectfully, due to infection concerns.”

It was the time when she decided to find the middle ground between dress code due to her faith and the passion of being in the operation theater as a medical student. She solved the issue by designing a disposable headscarf.  Her employer formally introduced this headscarf in the hospital she was working in in early December 2020. Now they plan to introduce it nationwide.

This looks like an interesting story of how a hijabi in the medical profession tried to solve this problem while fully meeting her religious obligations.

We expect some of our readers to think seriously about the potential of a disposable sterile headscarf business. Hopefully, they can start manufacturing this kind of hijab which they may be able to sell to Muslim medical female professionals all over the world.