Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters is reviewing its official uniform code for female soldiers after calls to allow Muslim women in the military to wear the traditional head scarf.

The head of the TNI Information Center, Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki said that as a national institution the military was willing to support the local wisdom of the Indonesian people.

However, TNI also needed rules to regulate some things, including the wearing of the head scarf by its female members. "The TNI's formal uniform for female personnel does not yet include the head scarf.

However, the TNI should develop a regulation about the specific requirements for TNI female members who want to use the head scarf. I can say that at least the color of the head scarf must be the same as that of the uniform." "It is clear that the TNI, despite some conditions, has not explicitly prohibited its members who want to wear head scarfs.

However, until now, there has been no internal request coming from TNI female members asking permission to wear the head scarf," he said.

The issue came to the forefront during recent discussions over the selection of a new TNI commander, which also touched on Aceh's requirement that all Muslim women, including military personnel, wear the head scarf.

A military expert, Kusnanto Anggoro, said he appreciated the way the TNI was handling the topic. "It shows that the TNI is no longer resistant toward any idea related to the issues of identity and locality. It proves that the TNI is able to accommodate a kind of global value, in which physical appearance has nothing to do with professionalism," Kusnanto said.

On the other hand, another expert on military issues, Edy Prasetyono said he would not agree if the head scarf policy was implemented outside Aceh. "Aceh is an exception due to its status as a special autonomous region. So, the regulation is specifically designed to suit the characteristics of Aceh. Outside of Aceh, the TNI still needs to maintain its image as a symbol of national unity," he said.

Edy said that in order to support the professionalism of the military, there were some universal values that needed to be implemented, such as discipline, the command system and uniforms. "Moreover, what if every region, every ethnicity and every religion in Indonesia demands the same privilege?" Edy added.

Indria Samego from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said that as long as wearing the head scarf had no negative impact on TNI's professionalism, then it would be acceptable for its female members to opt to wear it. (uwi)