'Westminster Bridge woman' breaks silence over racial outcry from terrorist attack photograph
The woman pictured on Westminster Bridge has broken her silence, saying she is devastated her image was taken out of context.
The Muslim woman's comments come as the photographer behind the image released a second shot in an effort to shut down racist and xenophobic commentary.
The unnamed woman was pictured with a hand to her head, walking past an injured victim in the aftermath of Wednesday's attack in London.
Her image became a favourite for anti-Islam commenters who attempted to frame it as proof of Muslim indifference to terrorist attacks.
The image went viral on social media after it was shared by a man identifying as @SouthLoneStar, who claimed she seemed indifferent to the suffering.
The image was then published in numerous mainstream media outlets.
The woman told TellMamaUK: “I’m shocked and totally dismayed at how a picture of me is being circulated on social media.
"To those individuals who have interpreted and commented on what my thoughts were in that horrific and distressful moment, I would like to say not only have I been devastated by witnessing the aftermath of a shocking and numbing terror attack, I’ve also had to deal with the shock of finding my picture plastered all over social media by those who could not look beyond my attire, who draw conclusions based on hate and xenophobia.
“My thoughts at that moment were one of sadness, fear, and concern.
"What the image does not show is that I had talked to other witnesses to try and find out what was happening, to see if I could be of any help, even though enough people were at the scene tending to the victims."
The support network, which also measures and analyses areas where abusive incidents take place, said the woman had contacted them directly.
TellMAMA wrote on their website that wide use of the image by the media “has undermined the confidence of an innocent young woman who was also caught up in the melee after the attacks”.
TellMAMA added that the woman “has expressly asked that her picture not be used and be taken down” from media sites.
“The greater the exposure of the picture, the greater has been the harassment and the intimidation of this young Muslim female who found herself in the middle of a situation that affected the whole country.”
Freelance snapper Jamie Lorriman told ABC the woman appeared "distressed and horrified" from his vantage point.
“No one was sort of screaming or shouting. The people who took on that picture are being rather selective," he said.
“In the other picture in the sequence she looks truly distraught — personally I think she looks distressed in both pictures.
“To assume she was ignoring someone is impossible to know, the look on the woman’s face, she’s horrified, she’s in the middle of a traumatic situation.”
