Yesterday evening along with others I was giving out leaflets at Kilburn Station about today's demonstration.
There follow's a troubling account of what happened to one of the women who was leafleting which raises issues about stereotyping (religious, age, gender) as well as free speech in a democracy.
I’m a seasoned activist (I’ve had worse, just not of this nature!) and I know my rights, however he picked on me because I look young (and was wearing a headscarf), and that happens to a lot of young people, so they are intimidated and just walk away when they are asked to, or because someone in a TfL uniform asks them to. I did tell him to call the police over if he wanted to, and when I spoke to the police, it was me they asked if I wanted to make a complaint. I told them what he said and they agreed with me.
I was not breaking any laws. No doubt I’m not the only person such things happen to regularly and issues like Gaza bring in people who are new to activism and such things can really put them off. I know that because I’ve seen many times before, particularly the harassment women get from men.
There follow's a troubling account of what happened to one of the women who was leafleting which raises issues about stereotyping (religious, age, gender) as well as free speech in a democracy.
At about 5:40pm, a man called “Y”, a middle-aged Pakistani man who worked at the station – uniform and all – came up to me. I was careful not to enter the station even when people inside asked for leaflets and asked them to come just outside instead. He told me that I should move away and stand more discretely and not so close to the station. When I asked why, he said that he had received complaints and some people were afraid that I was going to blow up the station because I was wearing a headscarf (note I have used this station for years, handed out leaflets before and waited for people, all without any such accusation).
I pressed him to find out how many complaints had been made in such a short space of time since there were few people around. He finally said three. I said I was outside the station and it was not the station’s concern and that in a democracy I can hand out leaflets and people can complain but if neither of us is breaking the law there’s not much that can be done. The PCSOs were inside the station so I said that if I was breaking the law, he should complain to them and they could deal with it. Instead he said that I was actually on TfL property. I wanted proof but he just pointed to the bridge.
He said the land just outside the station is also owned by TfL. I said then why aren’t you talking to other people? He said “you’re too close to the station”. I said if I’m not breaking the law and you can’t prove it, I’m not moving. As well as the fact that I was wearing a headscarf, he was also having a go at me as I’m apparently a younger-looking woman and his tone was very patronising. I think he thought I was a school kid on holiday.
He eventually gave up and left. As he left, I told him I hadn’t moved and didn’t plan to, and I stayed where I was until I finished at 6pm. Before I left, I went into the station and asked his colleague, a younger man, if anyone had made any complaints. He said no.
I then spoke to the PCSOs who were there the whole time. I asked if anyone had complained to them. Again, no, just the two Israelis who were upset but not specifically at us, just the issue. I told them what had happened and since they were there the whole time, they were surprised as it didn’t seem that there any hostility in our discussion just outside the station (they were standing by the ticket office). Another activist had come inside to hand out leaflets but she left when they asked her to step outside and took up a similar position to myself. In this case, the younger man asked the PCSOs to ask her to move.
Explaining that his comments were discriminatory, the PCSOs asked if I wanted to make an official complaint. I said no, as they said they could speak to him instead. I said that if there was anything else, they could tell Sarah. I was also apparently being aggressive by pushing leaflets into people’s face, but again, no one else saw any such thing, and I wasn’t standing in anyone’s way or asked to move ever. He was just picking on me for whatever reason. I was just my quiet, peaceful normal self all along.
I’m a seasoned activist (I’ve had worse, just not of this nature!) and I know my rights, however he picked on me because I look young (and was wearing a headscarf), and that happens to a lot of young people, so they are intimidated and just walk away when they are asked to, or because someone in a TfL uniform asks them to. I did tell him to call the police over if he wanted to, and when I spoke to the police, it was me they asked if I wanted to make a complaint. I told them what he said and they agreed with me.
I was not breaking any laws. No doubt I’m not the only person such things happen to regularly and issues like Gaza bring in people who are new to activism and such things can really put them off. I know that because I’ve seen many times before, particularly the harassment women get from men.