A veiled Muslim woman has related how an “executive looking man” queued at a Hamilton store said he was planning to help carry her basket because he thought she was a Catholic nun, but said he would not help a Muslim.
Women’s Organisation of the Waikato Muslim Association (WOWMA) founder, Aliya Danzeisen, told the Waikato Times she has also been physically pushed in Westfield Chartwell mall, called a “f**ing Muslim” in public, and shouted at from passing cars.
WOWMA was established four years ago to help Muslim women integrate into New Zealand society. Ms Danzeisen said discrimination in the region was high, with Muslim women the target of harassment.
The women had been verbally attacked on the bus, physically pushed in public, shouted at on the street and told to go back home, but for this group of young Muslim women, Hamilton is home.
Source
- Waikato Times
- Image: Sunday StarTimes