London, Sep 18: A former cop with the UK’s West Midlands Police has claimed that some officers routinely used racial slurs against Sikhs and referred to Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai as ‘tikka masala’.
In a recent interview to Channel 4, Rebecca Kalam, who spent 10 years in the force’s firearms unit before leaving in July this year, said fellow cops referred to those wearing a turban with racist remarks, and didn’t bother to learn the difference between Sikhs and Muslims.
Among the many explosive claims made by Kalam was the one where protection officers for Malala Yousafzai, who was airlifted to UK for treatment after she was shot by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan, referred to her as ‘tikka masala’.
“These shocking allegations of racism made by whistle-blower Ms Kalam against the West Midlands Police come as no surprise. The Sikh community across the West Midlands has been making such complaints and claims for decades, but all have fallen on deaf ears of the force,” Jas Singh, advisor to the Sikh Federation, told news website BirminghamLive.
“Despite changes in senior officers and meeting with an elected PCC (Police and Crime Commissioner), nothing seems to change other than things getting worse,” Singh said. Singh said that the community has called on West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and PCC Simon Foster to conduct a full root and branch investigation, and review into the conduct and racist attitudes and practices in the force. Kalam – who was one of just seven female officers in the 235-strong unit of the UK’s second largest police force in the country – also complained of toxic masculinity and misogyny, where objectification of women was common and male cops regularly used the C-word. The West Midlands Police has accepted 75 of Kalam’s complaints, according to Channel 4. (IANS)
