🔗 Share this article

Female members of the Sikh community across the Midlands are describing how a series of hate crimes based on faith has instilled pervasive terror within their community, compelling some to “radically modify” about their daily routines.

Series of Attacks Causes Fear

Two rapes of Sikh women, each in their twenties, reported from Walsall and Oldbury, were recently disclosed over the past few weeks. An individual aged 32 is now accused associated with a hate-motivated rape in relation to the purported assault in Walsall.

Such occurrences, coupled with a brutal assault against two senior Sikh chauffeurs from Wolverhampton, prompted a parliamentary gathering towards October's close about anti-Sikh hate crimes across the Midlands.

Females Changing Routines

An advocate working with a women’s aid group across the West Midlands explained that ladies were modifying their daily routines for their own safety.

“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 taking strolls or jogs currently, she indicated. “They participate in these endeavors together. They update loved ones on their location.”

“An assault in Walsall will frighten females in Coventry since it’s within the Midlands,” she said. “Clearly, there’s a transformation in the manner ladies approach their own protection.”

Public Reactions and Defensive Steps

Sikh temples in the Midlands region are now handing out rape and security alarms to women in an effort to keep them safe.

At one Walsall gurdwara, a devoted member remarked that the events had “altered everything” for the Sikh community there.

In particular, she said she did not feel safe visiting the temple alone, and she advised her older mother to exercise caution upon unlocking her entrance. “All of us are at risk,” she declared. “Assaults can occur anytime, day or night.”

Another member mentioned she was adopting further protective steps during her travels to work. “I try and find parking nearer to the bus station,” she commented. “I play paath [prayer] in my earpieces at minimal volume, ensuring I remain aware of traffic and my environment.”

Generational Fears Resurface

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

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

For an individual raised in the area, the atmosphere is reminiscent of the discrimination endured by elders 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 community representative agreed with this, stating residents believed “we’ve regressed to an era … marked by overt racism”.

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

Government Measures and Supportive Statements

City officials had provided additional surveillance cameras near temples to comfort residents.

Police representatives stated they were conducting discussions with local politicians, women’s groups, and public advocates, as well as visiting faith establishments, to discuss women’s safety.

“It’s been a very difficult week for the community,” a senior officer informed a gurdwara committee. “Everyone merits a life free from terror in their community.”

Local government declared it had been “actively working alongside the police with the Sikh community and our communities more widely to provide support and reassurance”.

Another council leader remarked: “Everyone was stunned by the horrific event in Oldbury.” 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.