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Female members of the Sikh community across the Midlands are recounting a wave of religiously motivated attacks has caused pervasive terror among their people, compelling some to “radically modify” regarding their everyday habits.

Series of Attacks Causes Fear

Two rapes targeting Sikh females, both in their 20s, occurring in Walsall and Oldbury, have come to light in recent weeks. A 32-year-old man faces charges in connection with a faith-based sexual assault linked to the purported assault in Walsall.

These events, coupled with a brutal assault targeting two older Sikh cab drivers located in Wolverhampton, resulted in a parliamentary gathering towards October's close concerning bias-motivated crimes targeting Sikhs within the area.

Women Altering Daily Lives

An advocate working with a women’s aid group in the West Midlands explained that females were altering 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.’”

Ladies were “apprehensive” visiting fitness centers, or taking strolls or jogs currently, she mentioned. “They are doing this in groups. They are sharing their location with their friends or a family member.

“An attack in Walsall is going to make women in Coventry feel scared because it’s the Midlands,” she explained. “Clearly, there’s a transformation in the manner ladies approach their own protection.”

Public Reactions and Defensive Steps

Sikh gurdwaras throughout the Midlands are now handing out rape and security alarms to ladies to help ensure their security.

In a Walsall temple, a regular attender stated that the attacks had “altered everything” for the Sikh community there.

Specifically, she revealed she felt unsafe going to the gurdwara on her own, and she had told her older mother to stay vigilant when opening her front door. “We’re all targets,” she declared. “No one is safe from harm, regardless of the hour.”

One more individual explained she was implementing additional safety measures during her travels to work. “I attempt to park closer to the transit hub,” she noted. “I listen to paath [prayer] through headphones but keep it quiet enough to detect passing vehicles and ambient noise.”

Historical Dread Returns

A mother of three remarked: “My daughters and I take walks, but current crime levels make it feel highly dangerous.

“We’ve never thought about taking these precautions before,” she said. “I’m perpetually checking my surroundings.”

For someone who grew up locally, the atmosphere echoes the discrimination endured by elders back in the 70s 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 local councillor agreed with this, saying people felt “we’ve returned to a period … characterized by blatant bigotry”.

“Individuals are afraid to leave their homes,” she said. “People are scared to wear the artefacts of their religion; turbans or head coverings.”

Official Responses and Reassurances

The local council had set up more monitoring systems around gurdwaras to reassure the community.

Police representatives announced they were holding meetings with local politicians, ladies’ associations, and community leaders, and going to worship centers, to talk about ladies’ protection.

“It’s been a very difficult week for the community,” a chief superintendent addressed a worship center group. “No one deserves to live in a community feeling afraid.”

The council stated 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 commented: “We were all shocked by the awful incident 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.