Mum of murdered pregnant woman calls for action on honour-based abuse in Scotland

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The mum of a pregnant woman murdered after being pushed off Arthur's Seat by her abusive husband is calling on the Scottish Government to take action over honour-based abuse.

Fawziyah Javad, 31, was on holiday in Edinburgh with her husband Kashif Anwar, 29, from Leeds, when she was pushed as they walked on the 50ft cliff in September 2021. The lawyer, who was 17-weeks pregnant, managed to tell passers-by that she had been pushed by her partner before she died.

Anwar was found guilty of her murder at the High Court in Edinburgh and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The court heard that Anwar pushed Fawziyah, because she wanted to end the marriage.

Her mother, Yasmin Javed is now calling for greater protections and legislation to prevent further "honour-based" violence, including female genital mutilation, forced and child marriages, and "honour crimes".

Yasmin told STV: "The authorities definitely need to do more to keep women safe. Every woman that contacts the police in a situation like Fawziyah’s, she should be seen as a potential murder victim.

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“It’s everybody’s responsibility because one life lost causes a lifetime of devastation for everybody. It’s that massive ripple effect. Everyone has a duty to make sure every woman is safe.

“I know the horrific consequences this has had on myself, Fawziyah’s father and my family. It’s completely destroyed us and I don’t want another family to be going through this and if I can help save lives then I will.

“Fawziyah was just an amazing, wonderful person. I’ve never had anybody come to me and say Fawziyah has been unpleasant to them. She didn’t have a bad bone in her body, she was just a beautiful soul inside and out."

The family has now set up the Fawziyah Javed Foundation to give practical support to parents of homicide victims.

Last week, Yasmin spoke to an audience of women at The Tramway in Glasgow invited by the Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre as part of the UN-backed 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.

Yasmin said: "The grief and pain have brought us down to our knees. We’re not living anymore, we’re just existing – this is a lifetime of pain and grief for us.

“She (Fawziyah) did speak out, although I could tell she was holding things back, she did speak and the police were involved on two occasions. She gave two police statements, she contacted divorce lawyers and she recorded the abuse with voice recordings.

“She was two days away from leaving him, but he found out. As a result, this is what he did. He’s behind bars, but it’s the family that has a life sentence without parole.

“He got convicted because of the type of person Fawziyah was, because she recorded the abuse and helped to convict him. There isn’t a stereotypical kind of woman this happens to."

Police Scotland has implemented an action plan for supporting victims of honour-based abuse, and 949 incidents have been recorded between 2014 and 2020.

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.

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