Fawziyah Javed, a 31-year-old British lawyer, tragically lost her life when her husband, Kashif Anwar, pushed her off a cliff in Scotland. At the time of her death, she was pregnant with their first child. An investigation revealed that in the months leading up to her death Fawziyah was subjected to a harrowing pattern of coercive control and abuse. Anwar was subsequently found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A Pattern of Control and Abuse
Shortly before her tragic death, Fawziyah Javed had taken steps to report her husband’s coercive and controlling behavior to the police. She detailed how Anwar controlled various aspects of her life including her clothing choices, monitoring her communications, stealing money from her bank account and transferring it to his own, and being physically abusive.
Fawziyah’s mother, Yasmin Javed, told BBC Newsnight that Anwar resented his wife’s independence and well-educated background.
In phone conversations presented during the trial, Fawziyah is heard asking her husband, “Do I not have a say in how I want my life with you?”. He answers “No you can’t, with what? Because you are married now”. She says, “But can I not have a say, can I not have an opinion?” He replies, “You are not a man; start behaving like a woman. Don’t be that British woman. I am telling you now, it’s not going to work” and “if you end this [marriage] I will ruin yours [life].”
In recordings secretly made by Fawziyah, Anwar can be heard admonishing her for behaving like a “British woman” and asserting that she should act according to his expectations. The evidence collected by Fawziyah played a crucial role in the subsequent murder trial, which was featured in the Channel 4 documentary, The Push.
Honour-Based Abuse
According to the IKWRO Women’s Rights Organisation, the case illustrates the broader context of honour-based abuse, where individuals are victimized to protect or uphold the perceived honour of a family or community.
“Fawziyah was a bright, caring woman whose life, along with the life of her unborn child, have been stolen,” said Diana Nammi, Executive Director of IKWRO in a statement. “I welcome the guilty verdict of the perpetrator, who I believe murdered her in an “honour” killing, perceiving that he would be shamed because she wanted to leave him. There is no honour in murder or abuse.”
Events Leading to the Tragedy
Fawziyah Javed, a solicitor from Leeds, married Kashif Anwar in an Islamic ceremony on December 25, 2020. Despite initial concerns about Anwar’s possessive and hot-tempered nature, Fawziyah looked forward to her married life. However, the relationship quickly deteriorated, with Anwar exhibiting increasingly abusive behavior.
Three months after their wedding, Anwar knocked Fawziyah unconscious in a cemetery. He also attempted to suffocate her with a pillow and physically assaulted her.
Fawziyah reported Anwar’s behavior to the police twice. She did not seek immediate intervention but wanted to ensure there was a record of his actions in case anything were to happen to her. Tragically, her second report was made just days before her death.
Final Act of Violence
In September 2021, the couple went on a weekend trip to Edinburgh. CCTV footage captured them heading to Arthur’s Seat, the main peak of a group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland. Anwar pushed Fawziyah off a 50-foot cliff, leading to her death. Remarkably, Fawziyah managed to tell a policewoman at the scene about what had happened before succumbing to her injuries. She said that her husband had pushed her when she tried to end their relationship.
In April 2023, Anwar was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison for the murder of his wife and the death of their unborn child. The judge noted Anwar’s lack of remorse, a characteristic often seen in perpetrators of honour-based killings.
Fawziyah Javed’s death highlights the severe dangers of coercive control and honour-based abuse. Controlling behaviors, sometimes concealed under the guise of cultural or familial expectations, can escalate into fatal violence. Despite Fawziyah’s efforts to document and report her husband’s controlling actions, her cries for help were not enough to prevent the tragic outcome.
Featured image: Fawziyah Javed with her husband, Kashif Anwar. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Channel 4 Documentaries.
