A pensioner verbally abused a Muslim woman in front of her young child at a branch of Morrisons on April 11.
The Muslim woman, who wears the niqab (face veil), was told that she looked ‘ridiculous’ and ‘stupid’ in an abusive rant which included the statement ‘your religion is stupid, no wonder you people are killing each other’.
She challenged the abusive comments, however, and told the pensioner: “Excuse me, don’t speak to me like that in front of my child, it’s not acceptable.”
To prove a point, she even removed part of her face veil to show the pensioner that it was just fabric, but the pensioner moved her face away.
A member of public then walked through the aisle and gestured to the Muslim woman in a small show of support.
Tell MAMA reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police on her behalf after speaking with her days later. She added that she felt more vulnerable as she was alone with her young child when the incident occurred.
Almost one in five cases reported to Tell MAMA in 2016 identified a female perpetrator but the overwhelming majority of perpetrators (where identified) were male (66 per cent).
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