MUSLIM women are living in fear after being spat at, verbally abused and having their headscarves removed in the street following the bombings in London two weeks ago.
In some cases, women have been accused of hiding bombs under their traditional Muslim clothes while out shopping.
Nahar Choudhury, director of Hopscotch, an Asian women’s centre in Phoenix Road, Somers Town said: “Many women have had young boys spitting at them and swearing at them. They are getting dirty looks or people tut-ting at them in the street. One woman had her headscarf pulled as she was walking down the street.
“They are frightened. They are worried about what is going to happen and their children are frightened.”
The Asian women’s centre, in the heart of Camden’s Bangladeshi community, provides support and legal advice, in particular for Bangladeshi women and children. Set up in 1979, its services include advice on housing and parent care, an internet café, doctors advice sessions, healthy eating lessons, sewing classes, a creche and arts and crafts projects.
Ms Choudhury added: “There has always been a need for integration in Somers Town. Whatever people say it is not integrated. But it has very slowly been getting better over the years.
“Since Thursday, we have noticed people looking at us differently. There is a feeling that all Muslims are terrorists now and they don’t know who they can trust and who they can’t.
“It has taken us a step backwards. People were co-existing before – now there is a question mark over us and people are feeling very uncomfortable.”
Many of the female staff and visitors to the centre wear a hijab or traditional Muslim headscarf – but some say they are now too scared to leave the house in case they draw attention to themselves.
Lakhy Khan, 33, a family support manager at the centre who usually wears a headscarf said: “People are more aware of their colour and of wearing traditional clothes now. I feel uneasy putting my headscarf on because of the looks I have been getting.
“It is a challenging time to be a young Muslim in this country. My worry is the long-term impact it will have on the British Muslims who have been here for a long time and are trying to integrate. What happened was wrong, regardless of politics or religion.”
Mahmudha Haque, 27, a children’s development worker who has lived in Camden all her life, said that she had had relatives attacked and verbally abused since the bombings.
She said: “My aunt was shopping in Queen’s Crescent Market when people started shouting at her and pulling at her hijab. Personally, I feel like I am getting dirty looks when I walk down the street. I am more self-conscious now.”
Ruji Khan, 30, the centre’s office manager, said that many of the younger women were worried about their mothers and grandmothers.
She added: “We have had some women coming here without their hijab for the first time because they are too frightened to wear it. People should understand that costume is not everything. It should be a choice for women to practice their faith if that is what they want to do.
“It used to be about the colour of your skin. Now it is about your faith. I would like to be optimistic about the future but at the moment it’s difficult. I do believe that if we work together as a community, we can make a difference.”
Rubina Begum, 15, a student at South Camden Community School currently doing a work placement at Hopscotch, said the bombings had taken the community backwards.
She said: “There was racism before but things had calmed down a lot. But after Thursday it’s been an excuse for the old racist taunts to come out. It’s like we’ve taken one step forwards but two steps backward.” A police spokesman said they had not recorded a surge in attacks against Muslims but said that not all incidents may have been reported.
He said: “We would urge Muslims affected to contact police.”