'The hate can chip away at you - I hope people think twice'

Growing up in a multi-cultural community in London, model Mariah Idrissi said she had not really experienced negativity or judgement. It was when she started her career she thought, "oh my God, people actually think like this?".

Being the first woman in a headscarf to star in a commercial for H&M, Idrissi, from Wembley, said her eyes were opened to a world she had previously been unaware of.

She has now appeared in a short film encouraging Muslim women to report incidents of abuse and hate, from minor to major.

Although she did not face abuse walking down a street, the British-Pakistani Moroccan said she had experienced ignorance or being sidelined at times in her professional capacity.

"I suddenly got exposed to something that I had no idea about - obviously I understood from other people's stories, but not a personal experience," she said.

Idrissi said it was really important for things to change and to also reassure people they were "not crazy" when little incidents - like comments in the street - did take place.

The film has been created for the launch of Birmingham-based Muslim Women's Network UK's new national helpline, where women can report all incidents of anti-Muslim hate crime.

While sat a bus stop, Idrissa is told to "go home" and "take that thing off" by the occupants of a passing car.

She is then confronted by a version of herself who tells her, despite how minor or regular that experience may be, to not ignore it and use the helpline.

She feels the storyline will resonate with many, representing thoughts and feelings that are "really relatable".

"It gives that confidence that people aren't going mad or feel isolated in it," she said.

The film is one of 10 commissioned by the Media Trust, a charity which supports front-line organisations with marketing and storytelling.

They respond "to some of the most pressing and widely debated issues in the UK today, particularly around violence against women and girls (VAWG), child sexual abuse, online harm, misogyny and bystander awareness", the trust said.

Idrissa said, growing up in Wembley, the district's diversity perhaps sheltered her from similar experiences.

"But, getting into my career, that side was when I noticed it more so, it was like 'oh, how can you wear hijab and do this [modelling] job?'," she said.

"Suddenly it's 'oh my god, people actually think like this?'.

At many events, she was the only one in a hijab, which left her feeling "quite lonely".

"From a perspective of hate, it wasn't overt in that way, but it was interesting to always feel like, so when it's Ramadan or seasonal things that's when we get invited, but for the rest of the year we're sidelined or outcast."

The model, who is now pursuing a career in writing and screenwriting, said little day-to-day stresses, including the very incidents the film portrayed, could "chip away" at people.

She said she hoped the recently released film would make offenders stop and think and realise the impact of their comments.

She also wants people from other communities to watch it and think, "yes, this is actually a real thing".

"Hopefully it can get people to think about in their own ways - 'what can I do to change or help or support?'."

Other charities that have had films commissioned by the Media Trust include Imara, a Nottinghamshire-based charity supporting children aged three to 17 who have experienced child sexual abuse; Jewish Women's Aid, the UK's only specialist charity supporting Jewish women and girls affected by domestic abuse and The First Step, a specialist domestic abuse charity based in Knowsley, Merseyside.

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