Maha Sukkar is an Australian police officer in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

.(19 March 2018
Senior Constable Maha Sukkar
Australasian Council of Women in Policing. Accessed 13 November 2018. Sukkar was the first Australian police officer permitted to wear a traditional

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

as part of her official

police uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

when she became a

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

officer in 2004. She graduated from the

Victoria Police Academy The Victoria Police Academy is the main induction training establishment for the Victoria Police. It is located at 1 View Mount Road, in Glen Waverley, in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The grounds encompass 16 hect ...

using the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

to swear the oath to the Victoria Police before receiving her badge from

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

Christine Nixon Christine Nixon (born 11 June 1953) is an Australian former police officer who was the chief commissioner of Victoria Police from 23 April 2001 to 27 February 2009, being the first female chief commissioner in any Australian state police force. ...

.Dinham, Abby (18 August 2017
'Don't call me a pioneer!' - Australia's first hijab-wearing officer changing perceptions
''

SBS News ''SBS World News'' is the news service of the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. Its flagship nightly bulletin is broadcast at on SBS with additional weeknight 'late' bulletins from on SBS. ''SBS News'' is the name of the news app ...

''. Retrieved 13 November 2018. Sukkar is the founder of the Victoria Police Muslim Association. Her current police rank is

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

and she works at the police academy in Victoria. At the Australian Muslim Achievement Awards in 2009, Sukkar was named one of the "Australian Muslim Women of the Year". The Australasian Council for Women in Policing awarded Sukkar a bravery award in 2010. In 2018, Sukkar was added to the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the cele ...

. A post on the Victoria Police

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page about Sukkar's induction onto the Honour Roll of Women triggered a series of

threat A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for co ...

ening,

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

comments.Prytz, Anna (22 March 2018
'There's a line to draw' : Muslim officer rises above online abuse
''The Age''. Retrieved 13 November 2018. Commenting about the incident, Sukkar said, while she believes in

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, a line must be drawn when it comes to people encouraging physical attacks on her. On 13 June 2019, she was awarded the

Australian Police Medal The Australian Police Medal (APM) is awarded for distinguished service by a member of an Australian police force. The APM was introduced in 1986, and replaced the Imperial Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry and Queen's Police Medal for Distinguis ...

(APM). In October 2019 she was named one of ''The Australian Financial Review's'' 100 Women of Influence in the Diversity and Inclusion category.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian police officers Women police officers Australian Muslims People from Victoria (Australia) {{law-enforcement-bio-stub