Woman's hijab ripped off by two men in busy London street

Attack adds to the already growing number of incidents against Muslims in the west

A Muslim woman’s hijab was pulled down on a busy street in north London last week, adding to the already growing number of incidents against Muslims in the west.

"This was a shocking attack in broad daylight in the middle of a busy street. Racially and religiously-motivated crimes will not be tolerated. I would appeal to anyone who witnessed this attack to contact police," Detective Constable Ben Cousin of Haringey Community Safety Unit said.



The victim, who appeared to be in her 20’s, was shocked and distressed, according to the Independent. The attack took place at 7:30pm BST while the woman was walking with a female friend on London’s High Road.

The woman was approached from behind by two men, as they crossed the road by The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London.The Metropolitan Police said one of them pulled down the hijab she was wearing before both made off towards Pelham Road. Police in Haringey are appealing for witnesses and information.



The first suspect is described as white, in his late 20s or early 30s, with blonde or ginger shaved hair and stubble. According to police, he was about 5ft 6in and wearing a burgundy coloured hooded top and carrying a Tesco bag in his right hand. The second suspect was of Mediterranean appearance, also in his late 20s or early 30s and clean shaven, with spiky hair. He wore a grey hooded top.

Research by YouGov, an international internet-based market research firm, found a huge proportion of the British public against the burqa, with 57 per cent in favour of a ban and just 25 per cent against. In August, a contender for the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership said Muslim women should be stopped from wearing the face veil in public places in the UK.



The number of hate crimes reported to British police in the run up to and aftermath of the vote to leave the European Union surged by 42 per cent, police chiefs said in March. The same month, a Muslim woman claimed that her hijab was ripped from her head by a mob of schoolchildren as she tried to stop them stealing. Masoomeh Jafari, 26, from Sutton, South London, revealed how she was left terrified after up to 30 youngsters attacked her, grabbing her headscarf twice at Poundland supermarket.

This article originally appeared on Independent.