22 July 2025

Last month Zahrah Mahmood, President of Ramblers Scotland was made an MBE for her Voluntary Service in Scotland. For hundreds of members of the public who value Zarah’s voluntary work it was a moment to celebrate and recognise her commitment to making the outdoors accessible to everyone by sharing hundreds of positive comments and reactions on social media. But for others it was the opportunity to share racist comments. 

 

Dealing with racism 

Since we at the Ramblers published our commitment to anti-racism last year, colleagues have felt more confident in our response to racist communications, though it remains an unpleasant experience for all involved. As part of our anti-racism commitment, we said we would challenge racism by speaking up and speaking out. Alongside our colleagues who dealt with the racist slurs and anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media posts about Zahrah’s MBE, we were pleased to see community members calling out and challenging the comments they were reading, from feigned ignorance to outright obscenities. 

 

Standing in solidarity 

We firmly believe that our spaces should be safe spaces – whether when walking outdoors or in the virtual universe of social media. Many of the comments on social media were certainly not respectful of Zahrah or other people from Global Majority backgrounds. As an organisation striving to break down barriers that stand in the way of everyone feeling safe and welcome in the outdoors, a disturbing aspect was to witness comments made publicly by people representing organisations operating within the outdoors sector, denying that such barriers exist. This included claims that people from Global Majority backgrounds are already proportionally represented in Britain's outdoors. Repeatedly major research studies show this is simply untrue. This narrative is a clear example of why people from Global Majority backgrounds may not feel the outdoors is a place where they feel comfortable spending time. 

Zahrah says: “Receiving an MBE is a meaningful honour, but a small part of me couldn’t fully enjoy it, knowing the racist and anti-Muslim comments were coming.  

“That in itself is heartbreaking - that joy can be dimmed by the expectation of hate. But I’ve also been uplifted by the many wonderful people who challenged those comments and stood up against the negativity.  

“It’s why organisations like the Ramblers are so important: to challenge discrimination, stand in solidarity, and ensure everyone feels they belong.” 

 

Honouring our commitment to anti-racism 

In our commitment to anti-racism we said we would not only take action but also hold ourselves accountable in our anti-racism efforts, including being open with the public. We have taken learnings from these events on how we handle racism on social media and will never hesitate to block those making racist comments. Where appropriate we also report behaviour that we believe constitutes hate crime to the relevant authorities. Overall, this experience has reminded us how supportive, welcoming and friendly the majority of our community are, but that there is still more to do to ensure everyone feels welcome and safe when engaging with the Ramblers.