Gender-Based Violence Must End

On July 18, Sania Khan, a Pakistani-American wedding photographer, was killed by her ex-husband, Raheel Ahmad. Despite their divorce being finalized, Sania’s ex-husband travelled from Georgia to Sania’s apartment in Chicago and fatally shot her then later killed himself. Sania frequently spoke out about the stigma around divorce in the South Asian community on TikTok.

A few days later, Alwiya Mohamed, was shot and killed by her husband who then shot himself in their home in Milwaukee. Their one-year old son was home at the time. Alwiya and her family had moved to Milwaukee after immigrating from Somalia last year.

Earlier this year in May, another Muslim family was destroyed. A man shot and killed his wife, daughter and mother-in-law in Spring, Texas. He then turned the gun on himself. The couple were going through a divorce and there were reports of him being abusive to his daughter.

CCMW is extremely saddened by, and condemns these horrific acts of violence. Violence against women and girls and domestic violence remain the most common forms of gender-based violence (GBV) and continue to be an issue of great concern as they manifest themselves in increasingly insidious ways. Muslim communities are not immune to this violence and we must address GBV in our communities and provide safe spaces that empower the voices of victims and survivors to eradicate all forms of GBV.

Rather than choosing silence or complicity, we must firmly stand in support and solidarity with victims and strive to call out all acts of aggression. We urge imams to address issues of gender-based violence in their khutbah's to raise awareness in their communities. Gender-based violence does not begin with singular acts of cruelty, rather we must all hold ourselves and our communities accountable for the patriarchal and misogynist values we perpetuate whether unknowingly or otherwise.

CCMW has launched a GBV project that aims to develop a systemic change strategy and tools to address barriers Muslim women face in dealing with GBV, and also provide service coordination for Muslim women facing GBV. Learn more about the project here.

If you or someone you know is experiencing gender-based violence, click here to find support. For more information or if you have questions, please contact our team at gbv@ccmw.com or 647-622-2221.