🔗 Share this article

Female members of the Sikh community throughout the Midlands region are describing a wave of religiously motivated attacks has created pervasive terror in their circles, pushing certain individuals to “radically modify” concerning their day-to-day activities.

String of Events Triggers Concern

Two rapes targeting Sikh females, each in their twenties, occurring in Walsall and Oldbury, have been reported during the last several weeks. An individual aged 32 faces charges associated with a hate-motivated rape in relation to the purported assault in Walsall.

Those incidents, combined with a physical aggression on two elderly Sikh taxi drivers located in Wolverhampton, resulted in a session in the House of Commons at the end of October concerning bias-motivated crimes targeting Sikhs within the area.

Women Altering Daily Lives

A representative from a domestic abuse charity across the West Midlands explained that ladies were altering their regular habits to ensure their security.

“The terror, the total overhaul of daily life, is genuine. I’ve never witnessed this previously,” she noted. “It’s the initial instance since founding Sikh Women’s Aid that females have told us: ‘We’ve stopped engaging in activities we love due to potential danger.’”

Females felt “uneasy” visiting fitness centers, or walking or running now, she said. “They are doing this in groups. They are sharing their location with their friends or a family member.

“An attack in Walsall is going to make women in Coventry feel scared because it’s the Midlands,” she said. “Clearly, there’s a transformation in the manner ladies approach their own protection.”

Collective Actions and Safety Measures

Sikh gurdwaras in the Midlands region have started providing personal safety devices to women to help ensure their security.

Within a Walsall place of worship, a devoted member mentioned that the incidents had “altered everything” for local Sikh residents.

Specifically, she revealed she felt unsafe visiting the temple alone, and she advised her senior parent to be careful upon unlocking her entrance. “We’re all targets,” she affirmed. “No one is safe from harm, regardless of the hour.”

Another member explained she was adopting further protective steps during her travels to work. “I seek parking spots adjacent to the bus depot,” she said. “I put paath [prayer] in my headphones but it’s on a very low volume, to the point where I can still hear cars go past, I can still hear surroundings around me.”

Echoes of Past Anxieties

A mother of three remarked: “We go for walks, the girls and I, and it just feels very unsafe at the moment with all these crimes.

“We never previously considered such safety measures,” she continued. “I’m always watching my back.”

For a long-time resident, the environment recalls the discrimination endured by elders during the seventies and eighties.

“We’ve experienced all this in the 1980s when our mums used to go past where the community hall is,” she said. “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 public official echoed this, stating residents believed “we’ve gone back in time … where there was a lot of open racism”.

“Individuals are afraid to leave their homes,” she declared. “People are scared to wear the artefacts of their religion; turbans or head coverings.”

Government Measures and Supportive Statements

The local council had provided extra CCTV in the vicinity of places of worship to comfort residents.

Authorities stated they were organizing talks with community leaders, female organizations, and public advocates, and going to worship centers, to address female security.

“This has been a challenging period for residents,” a senior officer informed a gurdwara committee. “No one should reside in a neighborhood filled with fear.”

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

Another council leader remarked: “The terrible occurrence in Oldbury left us all appalled.” She added that the council worked with the police as part of a safety partnership to tackle violence against women and girls and hate crime.