A

traffic policewoman, non-commissioned officer Novi, looked enthusiastic in her white veil as she directed traffic, helped the elderly cross the road and fixed motorcyclists' helmets.

The positive image found in the Republika daily on Monday was a landmark in Indonesia's journey. Novi's smile is contagious, reflecting a great relief she can now work professionally while remaining true to her faith.  

But while we should rejoice in the progress regarding freedom of worship, and the potential of many more devout, presumably graft-free police, it is a landmark that shows the country is heading in a worrying direction, a situation caused by a government that typically bows to Islamic groups' demands, while being inconsistent on minorities' freedom of worship.

If I were a Christian in a scuffle between religious vigilantes in my Muslim-dominated neighborhood, my family and I would not feel protected if the police officer deployed to resolve matters was a woman in a veil. Before the policewoman had a chance to prove her neutrality, she might be harassed or become the target of violence from other minority members who felt they had to defend themselves.

Many conflicts with religious undertones in Indonesia appear unpredictable. The communal violence in Maluku that killed thousands of citizens started with an argument between a public minivan driver and his passenger, both of different faiths. And with the looming 2014 elections, citizens have every right to expect that the state is doing everything it can to ensure peace and order for everyone.

In fighting for the freedom to worship for Muslim policewomen, many of us forget the National Police have few personnel compared to the 240 million people they must protect and serve. The ratio is 1 to 600, with only 400,000 personnel and among them, a mere 20,000 women.

Starting last week, the new National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said policewomen across Indonesia could now don the jilbab just like their colleagues in Aceh, the only province allowed to apply Islamic law, and where all Muslim women including police personnel have been obliged to wear the jilbab since 2001. Muslim women in the police who had long aspired to wear the veil rejoiced, as expressed in the policewomen's Facebook group ' Polwan Indonesia ' with hundreds of members across the country.

But with many of the National Police's female officers in desk jobs, it is unclear how many are available to be deployed immediately to situations of unrest, where the potential of religious sentiment cannot be ruled out, at least in the near future.

A police chief would be risking the lives of a veiled policewoman, not to mention the people she is supposed to protect, if ill-intentioned parties targeted officers in jilbab because of the symbolism of this clothing. One thinks of sporadic communal tensions with religious undertones in areas like Central Sulawesi.

Ahead of 2014, the National Police must ensure they have enough women to be deployed in situations where police chiefs often think women personnel are needed, owing to their presumed 'womanly' traits that can tone down many a heated conflict, regardless of whether such assumptions are true.

Few, if any, contested the argument of human rights activists. Former National Police chief Timur Pradopo was alone in stating that as a national institution catering to all citizens, the police could not wear religious attire, while the policy in Aceh only owes itself to that province becoming the only province allowed to apply sharia law, under a special autonomy arrangement.

The right to wear the veil is a human right of individuals, in accordance with our constitutional freedom of worship, but the National Police will have to be extra careful in selecting personnel to be deployed in conflicts as a consequence of the new policy.

The police will face howls of discrimination in the event that human rights advocates realize that the assignment of veiled personnel is limited to the much safer areas of traffic control and desk jobs.

This smacks of discrimination, but allowing religious attire means the police and military should first ensure they have enough women to be deployed beyond desk jobs, to serve in any situation in the field.

Thus, Indonesia remains a state that utterly respects religious aspirations, but only selectively, while it treads on the rights of worship of others.