A 20-year-old woman was left with bruises and scratches on her arm after she was involved in an alleged attack on a Melbourne train which she says was racially-motivated.
A young Melbourne woman involved in an ugly altercation on a train, which she says was racially motivated, says she has been left traumatised and is fearful to catch public transport.
Fahima Adan, 20, was left with bruises and scratches on her arm following the incident, which occurred on a train from Dandenong on Saturday.
Footage of the incident has emerged and shows Ms Adan engaged in a heated argument with another woman, who is heard yelling "I hate Islam".
Ms Adan, who is of Islam faith and was wearing a head scarf at the time, says she was trying to help a 42-year-old mother and three-year-old boy who had been targeted by the other woman.
Police attended and arrested a 39-year-old Clayton woman, who was later charged with unlawful assault.
Speaking to SBS News on Tuesday, Ms Adan says she does not know what triggered the abuse but is sure it was racially motivated.
"When the lady turned around and she saw I was from the same religion she sort of pounced towards me and got a hold of my scarf," she recalled.
"The lady got a hold of my forearm while we were having the altercation, while she grabbed me she was digging her nails into my skin. She was very, very aggressive," said Ms Adan.
In a Facebook post, Ms Adan said the incident had "really opened my eyes" after she was provided no assistance from fellow passengers.
"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 also says the altercation has left her fearful and by speaking out she hopes to build more awareness of this type of situation.
"I'm scared, I took the train to work today and I was turning my back every two minutes. It's not a good feeling when you see a stranger laying their hands on you ... it was very traumatic for me," said Ms Adan.
"If you are getting assaulted and something wrong is happening, I would stand up for what's right and that's what I would advise everyone else to do because I didn't get that," she said.
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