Again in London a woman is attacked and murdered on the open street in London. Her family organizes a silent march, symbolically completing Zara Aleena’s journey home and bringing her home safely. The 35-year-old was about to become a lawyer.
Hundreds of people in London commemorated a killed woman with a silent march. At the same time, they demonstrated against violence against women and girls. Many participants wore white clothes as a sign of protest, holding pictures of the victim and bouquets of flowers in their hands. The police blocked off several streets so that the crowd could make their way from the scene of the attack to the 35-year-old’s apartment door.
Zara Aleena was killed just minutes from her apartment a week ago while walking home at night. A 29-year-old suspect is in custody on charges of murder, attempted rape and robbery. The case commemorates the murder of Londoner Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped, raped and killed by a police officer on her way home in March 2021.
Aleena’s aunt Farah Naz stressed that the family wanted things to change and that the political leadership acted to prevent violence. “It’s not about making roads safe, it’s about changing the mindset,” Naz said. The silent march began at 2:17 p.m. (3:17 p.m. local time) – Aleena was attacked at 2:17 a.m. on the night of June 26 – and followed the route home that she would have taken. The goal is to “bring her to where she belongs safely,” the family said.
The suspect appeared in court for the first time on Friday. He allegedly kicked Aleena, dragged her into a driveway and attempted to rape her. An autopsy revealed that she sustained multiple serious injuries. The 29-year-old is also accused of taking her phone, keys and purse. He only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth. He will next appear for a court hearing on September 30, the Times wrote.
Referring to the list of other women who have recently been murdered on the street in London, Aleena’s aunt continued: “Zara wasn’t a woman who didn’t know there was danger in the world. But she didn’t think that what happened to those women was going to happen to her. She didn’t know she was going to be on that list.” Zara Aleena was an aspiring solicitor and was just completing a two-year internship with the London Judiciary.
