At the beginning of this year, Sadaf Zahra shared a thread on Twitter about domestic abuse, ending it with vowing to attend the Aurat March for herself, her daughter and future generations. Today, it has emerged that she was found dead at her house and her husband, Ali Salman Alvi, a journalist, has been arrested.
”Before getting hitched, we’re lectured about spending entire life ahead with compromising. We are instructed to keep personal matters to ourselves. But what if the matter consists of abuse, violence, curse and toxic relationship,” she had said in a tweet dated January 7, 2020.
“Domestic violence is NOT a private matter. Call out people on it,” she further urged.
The incident took place on June 29 in Rawalpindi’s Yousuf Colony, where the police has arrested Alvi, after Zahra’s sister registered an FIR, reported Dawn.
The victim’s sister alleged that Alvi called her from her sister’s phone at 2pm saying he was “ruined” and the victim, identified as Sadaf Zahra, had “done something.” She said upon going to house with her mother, they found Zahra’s body hanging from the ceiling fan of her bedroom with a bed sheet tied around her neck.
She further alleged that her sister was a victim of domestic abuse and was beaten up by Alvi on multiple occasions.
According to Dawn, the police arrested Alvi on the day of the incident. The autopsy report is still awaited.
#JusticeForZahra trended on the top of Pakistan’s trends for Twitter, as people pointed out the Zahra had tweeted a thread on domestic violence – a likely cry for help.
A Twitter user, claiming to be Zahra’s friend, wrote a thread on Twitter on what happened between Zahra and her husband, detailing a harrowing and heartbreaking tale of infidelity and abuse.
Meanwhile, here’s how people are reacting to the news on Twitter:
How does she do it and can we pull it off?
Join us in celebrating these incredible women who are crushing it in life and we're crushing…
Yea, we’re trying to make a point. WILL YOU GET IT?