The Murder of Sania Khan

On July 21st, 29-year-old Sania Khan was preparing to leave Chicago and begin a new chapter of her life in Chattanooga Tennessee.  Tragically, this was not to be as she was found dead, shot in the back by her estranged husband in the condo that the two once shared.  A Pakistani-American who took great joy in her work as a photographer, Sania was married to 36-year-old Raheel Ahmed after courting each other for five years.  However, the relationship was mostly long-distance, which did not allow Sania to understand the full truth about Raheel prior to marrying him.  Sadly, it was not a happy marriage as Raheel suffered from significant mental health issues that turned their relationship into an abusive one.  Sania ultimately decided the the only recourse was divorce.  


Divorce was something that she was reluctant to do as women of South-Asian Islamic communities often suffer great stigma in their communities if they seek to divorce their husbands, no matter what the circumstances are.  Seeking solace on TikTok, Sania described how she felt like the "black sheep" in her community and that going through the divorce made her feel as though she "failed at life."  Her family's response to her decision reflected this stigma as they told her that if she proceed with divorce, she'd be letting Satan win, that she would dress like a prostitute, and if she went through with it and proceed to move back home, they'd kill themselves.  Many began to follow her posts and videos on TikTok, offering comfort and solace.  Eventually, Sania gained over 20,000 followers.  This helped give Sania the strength to proceed in her decision.  Sadly, as she prepared to leave and move on, her abusive husband returned, murdered her, and then committed suicide.  

Tragically, this sort of thing is not unusual in the West.  Many women from cultures outside the U.S. who find themselves in abusive relationships often receive no help from their families due to the Honor/Shame cultural mindset, and many Western social workers are hesitant to take on such cases due to the fear of being "culturally insensitive," often leaving abused women to fend for themselves.  Many Islamic theologians encourage the use of violence to keep women in line, citing Qur'anic verses such as Surah 4:34 which they state sanctions the beating of women if they get out of line.  They also refer to Hadith accounts such as Sahih Muslim 2127 & Sahih Bukhari 7.77.5825 which detail instances of unruly women being beaten to be brought back in line.  However, organizations such as Apna Ghar are working to fight back against these practices and ensure that gender violence & domestic abuses is brought to an end in all cultures.  Though work is being done, the death of Sania Khan shows that we still have a long way to go.  

Sources:

Cabral, Sam.  "Sania Khan: She TikToked Her Divorce, Then Her Husband Killed Her."  BBC.  August 09, 2022.  Accessed from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62427084.

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