Fatima Mahmoud* decided to wear a niqab, a face veil, for the first time this summer while getting on the Tube in London. A man on the platform at Whitechapel station stared and shook his head, before shouting and pretending to punch the air at her.
The man mimicked the niqab by putting his fingers over his eyes like goggles. Her friend took a picture of him, which led to the man running up to them and attempting to hit them, while witnesses confronted him.
Despite being a British-born and raised Muslim, the 23-year-old told The Independent: “I don’t feel safe at all here in the UK. I drive as much as I can and try to be wary of my surroundings. Public transport scares me now, especially because this incident happened in the afternoon. It wasn’t dark outside.
“I was scared to wear the niqab again until I rebuilt my confidence. I constantly look over my shoulder in case someone punches me from behind.”
Her story comes at a time when almost half of Muslim women (45 per cent) feel unsafe on public transport, compared to just 8 per cent of women nationally, according to a new report by Muslim Census.
More than one in three (34 per cent) of Muslim women said they have experienced Islamophobic or racist abuse whilst travelling, the survey of 1,155 people in November 2025 found.
These experiences range from assault, verbal abuse, being spat at, having their headscarf pulled, and even being urinated on, the study said.
Ms Mahmoud said she reported the incident to the police but has seen no progress. The British Transport Police (BTP) said the investigation has been closed pending new evidence coming to light, as all current lines of enquiry have been followed.
Nearly two-thirds of Muslim women believe they are targeted because they wear the hijab, niqab or other visible markers of Muslim identity.
Data from Tell MAMA, which stands for Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks, reveals that many visibly Muslim women “suffer repeat and multiple incidents of anti-Muslim hate throughout their lives”, and many have even removed their identifying clothing out of fear.
Tell MAMA director Iman Atta added: “We had cases reported where Muslim women wearing the niqab were denied access to services, and where bus drivers would not stop for them at bus stops.”
‘I was kicked at a Tube station’
Furvah Shah was left shocked, confused and in pain at a Tube station after being physically assaulted by a total stranger.
The 26-year-old hijab-wearing woman told The Independent she was just entering Marble Arch station when a young blonde woman kicked her and said, “You deserved that.”
Ms Shah was kicked in early September, a week before the “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London attended by 150,000 people. This follows a wave of summer anti-migrant protests over hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers.
During far-right demonstrations, nearly all Muslims (93.8 per cent) feel less safe, and 84.9 per cent actively adjust their travel behaviour, according to the survey. For women, the figures are even higher, with 96.3 per cent feeling less safe and 90.7 per cent changing their travel plans.
Ms Shah said: “This is a symptom of rising far-right sentiment. People feel emboldened to do things like this, and we're the ones who suffer. I’ve been more cautious of public transport and also on edge in general because I fear it is not a one-off incident.”
Ms Atta said far-right protests have psychological impacts and can “trigger feelings of fear and trauma effects”, particularly on Muslim women and young people.
Ms Shah reported the incident to the police as a hate crime, but in the end, she decided not to escalate the case.
‘I was called a racial slur’
Sumaiya Khan*, 24, was six months pregnant when she said she was subjected to a racial slur in August 2024, amid the Southport riots.
Ms Khan was waiting at a Luton station bus stop when a middle-aged white man sat next to her. She said he started saying “there were too many ‘brownies’ around. He then looked at me and called me an ‘f***ing P***’”.
She described feeling “angry” and “fearful to go out in public”, after assuming slurs like that were outdated from her parents’ generation. She did not report the incident to the police.
The survey found only 12.5 per cent of incidents are reported to BTP, local police or transport staff. Of those reported, 69 per cent felt unconfident that it would be taken seriously.
A majority of Muslims, 83.1 per cent, believe Islamophobia is treated less seriously than other hate crimes, as Home Office findings of prosecution rates for religiously aggravated offences remain low.
Ms Atta said: “Anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia is on the significant rise and the rhetoric around Muslim migrants is adding to this. It gives settled British Muslims the impression that they are ‘the other’ and that they are not accepted.
“This can have real-world impacts for social cohesion, integration and extremism and also divides communities in the ‘culture war’ debates. Some politicians have a lot to answer for in the pursuit of power.”
Mandy McGregor, Transport for London's head of policing, said: “We are absolutely appalled to hear of these horrendous incidents. Islamophobia and all forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable and we are deeply sorry [they] have experienced this on our network. We work closely with the police to stamp out hate crime on our network and we are following up with the police about these incidents.”
A BTP spokesperson said: “Abuse, intimidation, and violence – especially that which is motivated by hate – will never be tolerated, and we have acted swiftly and decisively when we receive reports of hate crimes on the network.”
Hate crime victims or witnesses are encouraged to report via text on 61016 or call 0800 405040.
The Home Office declined to comment further.
* Names have been changed
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