This Canadian woman was attacked by a man who mistook her scarf for a hijab
A Canadian woman was physically assaulted and told to leave the country by a man who mistook her scarf for a hijab.
Kayla Gerber was wrapped up in her scarf to protect against the cold when a man grabbed her as she walked down the street to the subway station in Toronto. He pushed her against a wall and demanded that she give him what was in her pockets.
“I was like, ‘I have nothing in my pockets,’ and he grabbed me by my jacket … and pushed me against the wall and said, ‘You need to get your fucking hijab off and get the fuck out of the country!’ Over and over again,” Kayla told Buzzfeed.
At this point, others noticed what was happening and the man fled. A couple comforted Kayla and offered to walk with her. She then reported the incident to the police.
Kayla, an actress, says that while she has experienced racial abuse before "it was the first time I was racially profiled for being a brown person and not for being black."
After posting about the incident on Facebook, she says she has been encouraged by the positive reaction.
“I hope we can reach out to people of the Muslim faith. It’s important that our refugees, our immigrants, even our people of Muslim faith who have been here longer than some people who are hating on them can feel safe in our country.”
