Shocking video emerges after two women and child 'racially abused' on Melbourne train
Ugly footage has emerged after a woman allegedly verbally abused a mother and child over their religion on a Melbourne train before yanking the hijab off a passenger who tried to help.
Fahima Adan, 20, appeared on Nine News on Sunday night sporting bruises and scratches on her arm following the incident which occurred shortly after midday on Saturday on a train from Dandenong, resulting in the arrest of a 39-year-old Clayton woman.
The young Dandenong woman said she tried to go help a 42-year-old mother and three-year-old boy when she saw them being racially abused by a "racist crazy lady" who screamed "I hate Islam".
"She saw that I was from the same religion and she sort of, you know, attacked me, she pounced to my scarf and tried to remove it and that's where the physical altercation [started]" Ms Adan said.
"My scarf... this is my world, this is my religion."
Footage from the train shows passengers watching a heated exchange between the alleged perpetrator and Ms Adan, who is heard yelling, "I'm Australian as well".
"No you're not!" screams the the other woman in reply.
In a Facebook post, Ms Adan said the incident "really opened my eyes".
"No one even tried to stop the lady once she jumped towards me trying to take my hijab off, when they saw that it was getting worse and I was fighting back as self defence, this man stopped it half way into the fight, all everyone did was record," she wrote.
"I’m so hurt and disgusted that I was even disrespected like that, I’m an Australian citizen, I work and take public transportation just like everybody else".
Ms Adan wrote that the alleged attack continued at Westall railway station in Clayton South.
"The lady continued to harass me and actually took my scarf off me, threw it into the bushes and fought with me again, she didn’t only just do that but scratched me in multiple areas on my body during this fight," she wrote.
In the post Ms Adan wrote she waited for police to arrive for an hour and a half but that they "never showed up".
"I was disrespected in so many ways," she wrote.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police were called to Westall railway station, where they arrested a 39-year-old woman from Clayton.
"Investigators have been told a 42-year-old woman and her three-year-old son were verbally abused by a woman on a train from Dandenong," she said.
"The woman also allegedly poked the victim in the shoulder. All parties got off the train at Westall station and police were called about 12.20pm."
After her arrest, police said the Clayton woman was interviewed and released pending summons for unlawful assault.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.