Brexit racist blowback: Muslim women targeted for abuse after EU referendum vote

Muslim women and girls are facing racist abuse in the wake of the historic Brexit vote – reportedly feeling "alienated" in the country they were born in.

Remain campaigner Shazia Awan, a Welsh businesswoman, was told to "pack her bags and go home" following the vote to leave the EU won by a majority on Friday.

Wales was one of the main areas in the UK where the Leave campaign was successful with 854,572 votes (52.5%) compared to 772,347 votes (47.5%) in the Remain camp.

Awan now fears one of the consequences of the referendum campaign, which saw Nigel Farage controversially pose in front of queue of a Syrian refugees, will be a rise in racist abuse.

She had written on Twitter: "Don't see how this country can heal itself. The UK is my home yet I feel alienated," to which Warren Faulkner, whose Twitter handle is @foggyneiinfidel, responded: "Great news...you can pack your bags, you're going home...BYE THEN."

In shock, she tweeted: "Campaign was vile and racist. #Euref has ruined country forever – someone just even told me to go home and am born in the UK."

Awan also told the Independent she witnessed a white man calling a woman a "n*****" in Cardiff after she accused her of voting to stay in Europe and the victim had felt that she could not report it as a hate crime.

"Every ethnic minority, every decent person, everyone who is in a mixed race relationship or from a black, Asian minority ethnic background are going to feel this now. Now start the vile tweets," she said.

A worried mother on Friday tweeted how her daughter saw a Muslim girl was targeted by a group of boys in Birmingham telling her to leave the country.

Labour MP Seema Malhotra said on Saturday she was"personally devastated" at the Brexit vote and wanted to assure firms "Britain was still open for business" and that people were worried about community relations.

Other incidents included a British-born Asian who contacted a London radio talk show who claimed she was harassed by a man bellowing nationalist slogans whilst shopping with her child and reports of Muslim schools being targeted for low-level abuse.

Cambridgeshire Police are also investigating after signs reading 'Leave the EU - No more Polish vermin' were posted through doors in shocking post-referendum racism.

Laminated cards were reportedly delivered to members of the Polish community in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

They were also found on the road near St Peter's School at around 8.30am on Friday, with a translation on the back reading 'go home Polish scum.'

Meanwhile an account on Twitter has been set up, entitled Post Ref Racism, for people to report the rise in racism in the UK following the Brexit vote.