Police spokesman Ulf Hoffman said an unknown assailant had attacked the pregnant woman in the suburb of Farsta on Friday by banging her head against a car.

Hoffman said the man shouted slurs which have led police to believe the attack was motivated by the woman's religion.

Using hashtag #hijabuppropet (hijab outcry) women posted their photos in headscarves on the social networking sites Twitter and Instagram.

Swedish television host Gina Dirawi and politician Veronica Palm are some of the notable figures who expressed solidarity with #hijabuppropet.

Green Party leader, Asa Romson, went as far as to change her Twitter profile picture, in support of the campaign. 

“Risk of being beaten and discriminated against for how they choose to dress, everyday life for many women in Sweden 2013” Romson said on her twitter account.

The organizers of #hijabuppropet, Foujan Rouzbeh and Nabila Abdul Fattah, published an impassioned opinion piece in Aftonbladet newspaper on Sunday, urging Justice Minister Beatrice Ask to take action in order to:

ensure that Swedish Muslim women are guaranteed the right to personal safety and religious freedom, without being subject to verbal and physical attacks. In addition, we demand that responsible politicians actively draw attention to and fight the structural discrimination that affects Muslim women. We believe that’s reason enough in a country where the number of reported hate crimes against Muslims is on the rise – and where women tie their headscarves extra tight so that it won’t get ripped off – for the prime minister and other politicians to take action to stop the march of fascism.

Continue following #hijabuppropet