Bereaved families of black, minorities and migrant women who died after suffering violence and abuse have called on the prime minister to help end femicide.
At a Downing Street vigil on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the group said urgent reforms to policing and sentencing are needed “to address systemic failures”.
Yasmin Javed, whose daughter Fawziyah Javed was killed after being pushed by her husband from Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, said authorities had ignored Fawziyah’s reports of abuse.
“It fell on deaf ears,” she told Sky News, explaining that Fawziyah, 31, who was pregnant when she died, had made complaints about her husband but had been murdered days before she was set to leave him.
“We’ve had our hearts ripped into millions of pieces. It’s not getting any easier, it’s getting more and more difficult.”
Kashif Anwar was convicted of Fawziyah’s murder and was jailed for at least 20 years in 2023.
Tuesday’s vigil highlighted key legislative amendments the families, led by campaign group Southall Black Sisters, are championing.
The amendments include Banaz’s Law, named after 20-year-old Banaz Mahmod, who was subjected to an horrific assault, strangled and stuffed in a suitcase by family members on the orders of her father.
The amendment seeks to explicitly recognise “honour-based” abuse as an aggravating factor in sentencing for relevant offences.
The families also want courts to impose sentences equivalent to murder for self-harm and suicides driven by domestic and “honour”-based abuse, and say the government must ensure all women have equal access to safety and support, regardless of immigration status.
Banaz Mahmod’s sister Bekhal, who testified against her relatives to help secure their conviction, said nearly two decades after the murder, efforts to protect women had not progressed.
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Speaking from an undisclosed location in the witness protection scheme, she said the murder “happened in 2006, and we’re almost in 2026 – that’s 20 years later. Not much has changed and it’s very, very disappointing.
“What happened to Banaz has happened, but what we could do is prevent it from happening to other people. I don’t understand why much more hasn’t been done to better the situation for others.”
