Malala Yousafzai's close protection officers referred to her as 'Tikka Masala': Whistleblower

The allegation is among a string of claims of racism, misogyny and toxic behaviour in the force made by Rebecca Kalam, who has just won an employment case against West Midlands Police.
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai (File Photo | AP)
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai (File Photo | AP)

The Pakistani education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban, was allegedly referred to as 'Tikka Masala' by her close protection officers, according to a former detective inspector turned whistleblower at West Midlands Police.

The whistleblower Rebecca Kalam said she overheard some of the human rights activist's protection officers refer to her 'on a couple of occasions as tikka masala'.

Kalam told Channel 4 News the force is at risk of 'another David Carrick (serial rapist who worked for the Metropolitan Police) or Wayne Couzens (Former London police officer convicted for rape and murder),' the Daily Mail said.

The allegation is among a string of claims of racism, misogyny and toxic behaviour in the force made by Kalam, who has just won an employment case against West Midlands Police, according to the report.

Rebecca Kalam, who left the force in July, officers in the force would refer to duty in central Birmingham as 'pussy patrol', claiming they would sit 'gawking at females' and commenting on which ones they would like to sleep with.

During her ten years in the unit she said one former colleague exposed himself to her, and another tried to grab her by the crotch. She alleged she was also strip searched down to her underwear in front of male colleagues during a training exercise and was told that as an ethnic minority she had to be the 'poster girl' for the unit, Daily Mail added.

She said: 'We should be trusting those officers to protect them. If that was your daughter, and you knew firearms officers were doing that, I know I'd be concerned if I had a daughter.

'There are predators within that unit.'

In 2012, 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala was airlifted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan for demanding education for women. The Pakistani activist has gone on to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.

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