Waterbury, CT — Two 14-year-old twin sisters were assaulted at Wallace Middle School last week in an attack motivated by their Muslim faith, according to the Connecticut Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
On March 3, the girls were beaten and had their hijabs forcibly removed, CAIR said.
“One girl was punched in the face and has bruises on her face and a bloody nose. The other one had something scraped across her neck and has contusions and bruising on her neck,” CAIR Connecticut Chairperson Farhan Memon said.
Waterbury police confirmed that a school resource officer responded to an altercation involving four seventh-grade girls.
The department stated that two students sustained minor injuries but did not require medical attention. However, Memon said the sisters were hospitalized and are now afraid to return to school.
“This is not the first instance of Muslims being targeted at Waterbury schools,” Memon said. “We’ve heard from other parents to say that their daughters, especially, have had their headscarves pulled off.”
Sixth-grader Sumaya Syed was stunned.
“I was like really, really shocked because I don’t know why they’re going for Muslims,” she said.
Her father, Fahd Syed, head of Waterbury’s Human Rights Commission, said this is not an isolated event. “It happened during my generation after 9/11, now it’s happening to my daughter’s generation,” he said.
“These girls were hurt. They were targeted for being Muslim,” he added. “They had marks on their necks, they were bloodied…they were beat bad, and on top of it, their religious veil was removed.”
CAIR is urging Waterbury schools to hold the attackers accountable, strengthen anti-bullying policies, and ensure a safety plan for the sisters.
Principal Vincent Balsamo reassured families that the school “remains steadfast in [its] commitment to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment.”
On Tuesday, CAIR will release its annual civil rights report, detailing a surge in Islamophobia complaints not seen since its founding 30 years ago.
