Canadian Medical Association Journal retracts controversial hijab letter
The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has retracted and formally apologized for a letter it recently published about the hijab following calls from multiple organizations and individuals.
Interim editor-in-chief of the CMAJ, Dr. Kirsten Patrick, apologized on Thursday for publishing the letter, which she said “did not contain appropriate subject matter for publication” and “disgusted many readers across Canada.”
The letter, published on Dec. 20 with the headline “Don’t use an instrument of oppression as a symbol of diversity and inclusion,” was written by Montreal pediatric surgeon Dr. Sherif Emil in response to the CMAJ’s use of an image last month of two young girls, one of whom is wearing a hijab, that accompanied a piece on social interventions in primary care.
