Families Deliver Heart-Wrenching Plea at Downing Street Vigil
Grieving families of Black, minority, and migrant women killed by violence and abuse have confronted the Prime Minister with an urgent demand to end femicide in the UK. The powerful appeal was made during a vigil outside Downing Street on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, where campaigners pointed to "systemic failures" within the police and justice systems.
Deaf Ears and a Life Lost
Yasmin Javed shared the devastating story of her daughter, Fawziyah Javed, a 31-year-old who was pregnant when she was murdered. Fawziyah Javed was pushed from Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh by her husband, Kashif Anwar, in 2023. He was later convicted of her murder and jailed for a minimum of 20 years.
Ms Javed revealed to Sky News that her daughter's pleas for help had been ignored by the authorities. "It fell on deaf ears," she stated, explaining that Fawziyah had made complaints about her husband's abuse but was killed just days before she planned to leave him. "We've had our hearts ripped into millions of pieces. It's not getting any easier, it's getting more and more difficult," she added.
The Campaign for Legislative Change
The vigil, organised by the campaign group Southall Black Sisters, served to highlight key legislative amendments the families are championing. These proposed changes are designed to close dangerous gaps in the current law and sentencing guidelines.
The proposed amendments include:
- Banaz's Law: Named after Banaz Mahmod, a 20-year-old woman who was horrifically assaulted, strangled, and stuffed in a suitcase by family members on her father's orders in 2006. This law would explicitly recognise "honour-based" abuse as an aggravating factor in sentencing for relevant offences.
- Ensuring courts impose sentences equivalent to murder for self-harm and suicides that are driven by domestic or "honour"-based abuse.
- Guaranteeing that all women have equal access to safety and support, regardless of their immigration status.
Bekhal Mahmod, Banaz's sister who testified against her family to secure their convictions, spoke from an undisclosed location within the witness protection scheme. She expressed her profound disappointment that, nearly two decades after her sister's murder, little has changed.
"It happened in 2006, and we're almost in 2026 - that's 20 years later. Not much has changed and it's very, very disappointing," she said. "What happened to Banaz has happened, but what we could do is prevent it from happening to other people. I don't understand why much more hasn't been done to better the situation for others."
