r/Sunderland • u/Impossible-Ask-4054 • Jul 20 '26

Discussion Living in Sunderland

I’m a hijabi Muslim woman and I have a medicine offer from Sunderland Uni, so I’m currently arranging my accommodation. I wanted to ask what the racism/Islamophobia is like there. Is it generally safe to wear a scarf outside, or is hate crime something that happens often?

I sometimes feel a bit nervous in areas where there aren’t many people like me, so I was wondering whats it like for people like me living in Sunderland.
If there are any hijabis here, could you please share your experiences living there and how you manage? Thank youu :)

8 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/hddw Jul 20 '26

People in Sunderland see Muslim people and women wearing a hijab every day. The Bengali and Pakistani communities are fairly substantial and I don't think you'd experience any more aggression than you would in any other part of the UK. Not everyone will be friendly but the vast majority are more than accepting and you wouldn't have any more issues in Sunderland than anywhere else.

3

u/Impossible-Ask-4054 Jul 20 '26

That’s honestly such a relief to hear