🔗 Share this article

Female members of the Sikh community throughout the Midlands region are explaining a wave of assaults driven by religious bias has caused widespread fear in their circles, compelling some to “change everything” regarding their everyday habits.

Series of Attacks Causes Fear

Two rapes targeting Sikh females, both young adults, occurring in Walsall and Oldbury, were recently disclosed during the last several weeks. A 32-year-old man has been charged related to a religiously aggravated rape linked to the alleged Walsall attack.

Such occurrences, along with a physical aggression against two senior Sikh chauffeurs from Wolverhampton, prompted a meeting in parliament at the end of October about anti-Sikh hate crimes across the Midlands.

Women Altering Daily Lives

An advocate associated with a support organization across the West Midlands commented that ladies were changing their everyday schedules to protect themselves.

“The terror, the total overhaul of daily life, is genuine. I’ve never witnessed this previously,” she said. “This is the first time since I’ve set up Sikh Women’s Aid where women have said to us: ‘We are no longer doing the things that we enjoy because we might get harmed doing them.’”

Women were “not comfortable” going to the gym, or going for walks or runs at present, she indicated. “They are doing this in groups. They are sharing their location with their friends or a family member.

“An assault in Walsall will frighten females in Coventry since it’s within the Midlands,” she emphasized. “There has definitely been a shift in the way women think about their own safety.”

Community Responses and Precautions

Sikh temples throughout the Midlands have started providing rape and security alarms to females as a measure for their protection.

Within a Walsall place of worship, a regular attender mentioned that the attacks had “altered everything” for Sikhs living in the area.

In particular, she expressed she was anxious going to the gurdwara on her own, and she had told her older mother to exercise caution while answering the door. “We’re all targets,” she affirmed. “Assaults can occur anytime, day or night.”

Another member stated she was taking extra precautions when going to work. “I seek parking spots adjacent to the bus depot,” she said. “I listen to paath [prayer] through headphones but keep it quiet enough to detect passing vehicles and ambient noise.”

Echoes of Past Anxieties

A parent with three daughters stated: “My daughters and I take walks, but current crime levels make it feel highly dangerous.

“In the past, we didn’t contemplate these defensive actions,” she said. “I’m always watching my back.”

For someone who grew up locally, the mood is reminiscent of the bigotry experienced by prior generations in the 1970s and 80s.

“We’ve experienced all this in the 1980s when our mums used to go past where the community hall is,” 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 public official echoed this, saying people felt “we’ve returned to a period … characterized by blatant bigotry”.

“Residents fear venturing into public spaces,” she declared. “People are scared to wear the artefacts of their religion; turbans or head coverings.”

Authority Actions and Comforting Words

The local council had set up extra CCTV around gurdwaras to ease public concerns.

Police representatives announced they were organizing talks with public figures, ladies’ associations, and public advocates, and going to worship centers, to talk about ladies’ protection.

“It’s been a very difficult week for the community,” a chief superintendent addressed a gurdwara committee. “No one deserves to live in a community feeling afraid.”

Municipal leadership stated it had been “actively working alongside the police with the Sikh community and our communities more widely to provide support and reassurance”.

A different municipal head commented: “The terrible occurrence in Oldbury left us all appalled.” She explained that the municipality collaborates with authorities via a protective coalition to address attacks on women and prejudice-motivated crimes.