🔗 Share this article

Female members of the Sikh community in the Midlands area are explaining a spate of assaults driven by religious bias has instilled deep-seated anxiety within their community, pushing certain individuals to “radically modify” about their daily routines.

String of Events Triggers Concern

Two sexual assaults of Sikh women, each in their twenties, occurring in Walsall and Oldbury, have been reported during the last several weeks. A man in his early thirties faces charges related to a religiously aggravated rape linked to the reported Walsall incident.

Such occurrences, along with a physical aggression targeting two older Sikh cab drivers from Wolverhampton, prompted a meeting in parliament at the end of October concerning bias-motivated crimes targeting Sikhs within the area.

Females Changing Routines

A leader working with a women’s aid group in the West Midlands commented that ladies were changing their regular habits for their own safety.

“The fear, the now complete changing of your day-to-day living, that is real. I have not seen that before,” she remarked. “For the first time since establishing Sikh Women’s Aid, women have expressed: ‘We’ve ceased pursuing our passions out of fear for our safety.’”

Females felt “uneasy” going to the gym, or going for walks or runs now, she said. “They now undertake these activities collectively. They notify friends or relatives of their whereabouts.

“A violent incident in Walsall causes anxiety for ladies in Coventry as it’s part of the same region,” she said. “Undoubtedly, there’s been a change in how females perceive their personal security.”

Community Responses and Precautions

Sikh gurdwaras throughout the Midlands have started providing personal safety devices to ladies in an effort to keep them safe.

Within a Walsall place of worship, a devoted member mentioned that the events had “changed everything” for the Sikh community there.

Specifically, she expressed she was anxious going to the gurdwara on her own, and she had told her elderly mother to exercise caution while answering the door. “Everyone is a potential victim,” she declared. “No one is safe from harm, regardless of the hour.”

Another member mentioned she was implementing additional safety measures during her travels to work. “I attempt to park closer to the transit hub,” she noted. “I listen to paath [prayer] through headphones but keep it quiet enough to detect passing vehicles and ambient noise.”

Echoes of Past Anxieties

A mother of three stated: “We stroll together, yet the prevalence of offenses renders the atmosphere threatening.”

“In the past, we didn’t contemplate these defensive actions,” she continued. “I’m perpetually checking my surroundings.”

For an individual raised in the area, the environment echoes the bigotry experienced by prior generations back in the 70s and 80s.

“This mirrors the 1980s, when our mothers walked near the local hall,” she reflected. “We used to have the National Front and all the people sat there and they used to spit at them, call them names or set dogs on them. For some reason, I’m going back to that. In my head, I think those times are almost back.”

A local councillor supported this view, stating residents believed “we’ve gone back in time … where there was a lot of open racism”.

“People are scared to go out in the community,” she emphasized. “There’s apprehension about wearing faith-based items such as headwear.”

Official Responses and Reassurances

Municipal authorities had installed extra CCTV near temples to ease public concerns.

Authorities stated they were conducting discussions with local politicians, women’s groups, and local representatives, along with attending religious sites, to discuss women’s safety.

“It’s been a very difficult week for the community,” a senior officer informed a worship center group. “No one deserves to live in a community feeling afraid.”

Local government stated it was “collaborating closely with law enforcement and the Sikh population, as well as broader groups, to offer aid and comfort”.

One more local authority figure stated: “The terrible occurrence in Oldbury left us all appalled.” She noted that officials cooperate with law enforcement through a security alliance to combat aggression towards females and bias-driven offenses.