London: A niqab-wearing Muslim woman in the UK was treated like a “terrorist” after a bus driver demanded she should remove her face cover over safety fears as he felt that she could “bomb the bus”, media reported.
The woman, travelling on the First bus 24 from Easton to Bristol city centre, said she was shocked when the driver began berating her for wearing the niqab, a face veil that leaves the area around the eyes clear, soon after she boarded the bus with her two-month-old baby, BBC reported.
The 20-year-old woman said the driver told her “this world is dangerous” and demanded to see her face, it added. “He said I was scary and I was dangerous, and he kept talking about it during the journey. He was insinuating I was going to bomb the bus. How is that possible, when I’ve got a baby with me?,” she was quoted as saying by the Bristol Live.
“He (the driver) continued to insult me, and he made me out to be a terrorist, and kept saying everyone should see each other’s faces. He asked why I was wearing a balaclava,” she added.
However, the First Bus apologised, saying the driver made a mistake. “We would like to fully and unreservedly apologise to the customer for the distress caused when one of our drivers expressed his personal opinions,” said a spokesman.