27 October 2023

Frimley Park’s Corporal Iqra Shahzadi, the first ever hijab-wearing Army recruit, spearheads diversity and inclusion for young Muslim women across the country.

After successfully completing basic training in 2018, Iqra Shahzadi became the first hijab-wearing Army recruit, initiating a tidal wave of inclusivity-focused policy changes in the military, ensuring young Muslim women “always have a seat in the conversations they didn’t have the opportunity to be a part of before”.

Coming from a conservative Muslim family in Pakistan, Iqra pursued her dream of being in the military in secret for years – training before morning prayers throughout school, going through Army selection under the guise of studies, and donning a civilian uniform to avoid being identified as military whilst achieving her nursing degree.

Yet she remained resilient and determined to build her story’. Iqra said she learnt such resilience from her mother, who was repeatedly hospitalised throughout Iqra’s childhood due to challenging medical complications.

Seeing the care her mother was given by nurses inspired Iqra to pursue a medical career in the Army. Her mother struggled to communicate with her care team due to language barriers, which further inspired Iqra’s mission to build cross-cultural bridges.

Now assigned as an Army nurse to the JHG (South East) in Frimley Park’s trauma and orthopaedics ward (F6), Iqra is passionate about creating opportunities for young Muslim people within the military and breaking cultural barriers; whether that be through amending uniform policies, adapting mealtimes for religious festivals (Ramadan), or educating her fellow soldiers about cultural differences.

Iqra  says that “it is important to build a reflective picture of our society within the military and the NHS”, and therefore diversity and inclusion ought to be at the forefront of our institutions. Iqra continues to work closely with her military chain of command on how best to support a diverse military service. She also often participates in school/college open days and speaks to the younger generation about her military career, ensuring that young people know that there is opportunity for them regardless of sex, race, and religion.