Scanning the Hijab

At Singapore's Changi Airport, their security checks are so tight that after they scan your carry on luggage and make you walk through the metal detector, they stop you and wave their magic wand around your hijab, looking for little elves that may be hiding inside.

I have been through this numerous times and I wish they would go about doing it in a more discreet manner. Once, the security official shouted to her partner to quickly get the magic wand [I have no idea what it's real name really is] to scan my HEAD. On another occasion, I was pulled back after being cleared because I needed to have my scarf scanned.

I do not wear any sort of hair accessory that makes my head look disproportionate so no one ever suspects that I am hiding anything inside. Unfortunately, these officers are just doing their jobs listening to some higher power who thinks its necessary to scan people's heads.

Question: Wouldn't the metal detector detect if there was something metal under my hijab anyways? Also, what does the magic wand actually scan for?


Actually, come to think of it, I remember on my way for Umrah, at an airport ( I don't recall which), all the ladies were brought into a small room where a female security officer made us flip our hijabs over our heads and she made sure that there was nothing inside.