Pak-American Woman's Murder Serves as 'Wake-Up Call' for South Asian Community

The alleged murder of Sania Khan has reignited conversations concerning domestic violence and societal pressure.

The death of Sania Khan, the 29-year-old Pakistani-American photographer who was allegedly shot and killed by her ex-husband on 18 July according to ABC News, continues to take the internet by storm.

Raheel Ahmed, Khan's 36-year-old ex-husband, traveled from his home in Alpharetta, Georgia, to her house in Chicago, where the latter had shifted quite recently, according to the official police report.

Ahmed shot Khan, and then himself, before the cops arrived at the scene. Consequently, Khan's death was ruled as a homicide, while Ahmed's death was ruled as a suicide.

The alleged murder occurred after Khan opened up about her divorce journey on TikTok.

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'Feels Like You Failed at Life': What Khan Had Written Before Her Murder

In one TikTok video, she wrote this message, "Going through a divorce as a South Asian Woman feels like you failed at life sometimes. The way the community labels you, the lack of emotional support you receive, and the pressure to stay with someone because 'what will people say' is isolating. It makes it harder for women to leave marriages that they shouldn't have been in to begin with."

And in a subsequent video, she wrote about how she was "getting lectured by family members" after her first TikTok video.

"Women are always expected to stay silent. It's what keeps us in messed up situations in the first place. I'm done with this mentality," she had said.

Since the news of her death broke, Twitter has been flooded with reactions ranging from anger to grief to concern.

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'Wake Up Call': Twitter Reacts to Khan's Murder

From requesting people to not stop talking about her to reflections of their own struggles, Sania Khan's murder is getting a lot of traction on Twitter.

please don’t stop talking about sania khan, this should be a wake up call for the south asian community and the muslim community. stop letting community leaders oppress & silence women and stop coddling your sons when they’re being misogynistic and violent.

— suri (@suricidal) July 26, 2022

The Sania Khan story is sitting heavy with me today, especially since my mom went through a divorce and I saw first hand how the community turned their backs on her without ever getting her side of the story. The woman is always to blame when there’s a divorce.

— zahara (@zzzzaracha) July 20, 2022

sania khan's murder is another example of how our community raises boys to believe the world owes them something, and then expects young women to be quiet and deal with them as they grow into toxic men. even if we manage to get out, we're still in danger

— Sakshi Venkatraman (@sakshi_saroja) July 22, 2022

I can’t stop thinking about Sania Khan. She did everything right. She was moving out. She got a divorce. She was starting her life over again. She was so close to making it before her life was taken from her.

— ‎aisha (@Ashy2098) July 20, 2022

Sania Khan, a South-Asian woman from Chicago, documented her reflections on her abuse and divorce. She was failed by her family and community around her. May she Rest In Peace, Ameen!

Gender-based violence is a public health issue. pic.twitter.com/I6UKrX5FsS

— Shakil Mirza (@mindofmirza) July 19, 2022

(With inputs from ABC News and the Chicago-Sun Times.)

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