Luton women reveal effects of hate crime

BBC Inside Out reporter Sophie Sulehria reports on abuse suffered by Luton women wearing the niqab and hijab

Two Luton women have revealed how they were reviled while wearing the niqab and hijab. It left one scared to go out and the other, a student, unsure of how to dress. They were talking to reporter Sophie Sulehria on BBC1's Inside Out programme broadcast on Monday,

Jahera, who’s lived in Luton for more than 40 years, said: “A man pulled up my niqab and shouted at me. It brought this fear in me and for a long while I just avoided going out.” She said she had learned to drive to avoid similar confrontations: “But they still shout, it happens all the time.”

Three men hurled abuse at student Nisrat when she went out in a hijab. Now she’s uncertain what to wear to show her devotion to her faith.

Sophie said she was surprised, then saddened, by the abuse: “I am grateful they felt brave enough to share their experiences with me, and were able to highlight an issue that affects women not just in Luton, but across the UK.”