“I’m a 21-Year-Old Muslim Woman Born and Raised in London, Here Are the Horrible Things People Do to Me on Buses That Have Left Me Traumatized”

A 21-year-old Muslim woman has spoken about the abuse she says she faces almost every day in London because she wears a niqab.

Salsabil said people have spat at her, pushed her and barged into her, saying that such incidents happen to her “every single day”.

She said many Muslims have started to feel that they simply have to accept this kind of behaviour instead of reporting it to the police.

The incident that led her to speak out happened on 31 July while she was travelling home from central London.

Salsabil said a man verbally abused her because she was wearing a niqab, a face covering that leaves the eyes visible and is normally worn with a headscarf.

She got off the bus and boarded another one, but said she was again targeted because of what she was wearing. The incident was recorded on video.

“He was swearing at me because of the way I was dressed,” Salsabil said.

She said she tried to sit down, but another passenger stopped her and began shouting at her.

According to Salsabil, the man told her that she was not welcome on the bus while wearing the veil. She said he described it as “terrorism” and said it was not a religion.

She also said the man threatened to remove her niqab himself if she refused to take it off.

Salsabil said the situation became even more frightening when the man threatened to kill her.

Another passenger then stepped in to defend her, and the two men became involved in a physical fight.

Salsabil said the passenger was the only person who came to her defence.

The bus driver eventually intervened and asked the man to leave the bus. He got off, while Salsabil continued her journey and later got off at her usual stop in north-west London.

She said she genuinely believed she could be seriously hurt during the incident.

“I felt so alone,” she said, while thanking the passenger who stepped in to help her.

Salsabil said the bus incident was not an isolated experience and that she regularly faces abuse because of her appearance.

She said that if she reported every incident, she felt as though she would spend most of her time at a police station.

She explained that she decided not to report this particular incident to the Metropolitan Police because she had previously reported an Islamophobic hate crime and felt that officers had not taken her concerns seriously.

Salsabil said this kind of response can make victims lose confidence in reporting abuse.

She said she was born and raised in London and had always felt safe in the city. However, over the past year, she said she had become increasingly worried about travelling on public transport.

Salsabil said nobody should be treated badly because of the way they dress.

She added that whether a woman chooses to wear a hijab, a niqab or no religious clothing at all, she should be able to go about her daily life without feeling unsafe.

Transport for London’s director of security, policing and enforcement, Siwan Hayward, said she was “appalled” after seeing the video of the incident.

She said nobody should have to fear being abused while using London’s public transport network.

TfL said it was urgently investigating what happened and encouraged anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the police.

The Metropolitan Police said it was aware of the video and was trying to contact Salsabil. The force also asked anyone who witnessed what happened to come forward.

Both TfL and the Metropolitan Police said they have a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred and other forms of hate crime.

Metropolitan Police figures showed that reported faith-related hate crime in London increased by 25% over the past year, while reported Islamophobic offences rose by 31%.

London’s victims commissioner, Andrea Simon, said she did not believe Salsabil’s experience was an isolated case.

She said there was serious concern about abuse directed at people who can be identified as Muslim because of their clothing or religious appearance.

She also said it was worrying that Salsabil did not feel confident enough to report the latest incident because she was unsure whether anything would be done about it.