Schahrazade Halfaoui wonders whether commuters didn’t see her bump because they were fixated on her veil.
It was 9 o’clock and the morning rush hour was hectic. I decided to take a break from driving and catch a train for a change. I got on the Central Line, scanning the carriage to see if there were any seats available, but there were none. As I stepped onto the train, everybody’s head turned to my direction. I thought “Great, people have noticed my bump and someone’s getting up anytime now”. Being seven months pregnant, it’s just impossible to miss my burgeoning bell. I waited for some considerate person to give up a seat, but nobody got up. It was an hour long journey and I stood the whole time.
How disappointing.
This made me think: I’m a pregnant woman, why didn’t anyone offer me a seat? But hold up, I am a Muslim pregnant woman. Perhaps no one wants Muslims to sit next to them, in case they turn out to be terrorists.
Of course I can’t be categorical about this conclusion. But there aren’t many other explanations: either it’s Islamophobia or just plain ignorance. In any case the people on the Central Line didn’t acquit themselves very well, and it’s my guess there was more to it than simple lack of consideration.
Being a Muslim has never been easy but since 9/11 and now the 13 November attacks in Paris, it seems to have become more complicated.
Ordinary Muslims are forced to walk with their heads lowered, fearing violence and persecution because some people just cannot distinguish between religion and terrorism.
Being a journalist, the first thing I do every morning is download all the latest news from around the world. And every day there is a story about a hate crime committed against Muslims or some sort of Islamophobic action.
However, I never thought that I would experience this directly, especially not in the multi-cultural, diverse part of London which I live in – and which I vowed never to leave because of how safe and welcoming it was when I first came.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
Photo by Nige Harris used under creative commons licence.