Hundreds join vigil for Zara Aleena as family remembers ’empathic and fearless’ Londoner
Hundreds of people have joined a vigil for Zara Aleena, who was attacked while walking home last week.
The 35-year old law graduate was killed after being attacked in Ilford, east London in the early hours of last Sunday.
Hundreds of Londoners showed up on Saturday afternoon to finish her walk, from the location of the attack to Zara’s home.
The walk started at 2.17pm, to mark the time she was attacked at 2.17am.
29-year-old Jordan McSweeney has been charged with the murder, in addition to attempted rape and robbery.
He was remanded in custody after not entering a plea at the Old Bailey, on Friday last week.
Farah Naz, Zara’s aunt, addressed a crowd of mourners, many of whom were wearing white, on Saturday afternoon, according to Sky News.
“She was on the home stretch, thank you so much for doing the walk and holding her in your hearts, praying for her, keeping her safe on this journey,” she said.
“At this point now we ask you to go home and thank you so much for being here today because this is our Zara, this is our issue, this something that we must all change, it must never happen again. Thank you for being here.”
“[Zara] was incredibly giving, supportive, insightful… empathic and fearless. The one word that would describe Zara would be independent,” her aunt told the BBC.
“Zara was an incredible woman and an inspiration to us all,” the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said on Saturday afternoon.
He added: “She rightly believed that every woman should be able to walk home safely and today her loved ones and so many from the local community and across the country came to finish the journey she started. My thoughts and prayers are with them all today.”
The Mayor said that women in the capital should not have to “change their behaviour” and every woman and girl was “entitled to be safe, and to feel safe – whatever the time of day and wherever they are.”
“We owe it to Zara to do everything possible to bring an end to violence against women and girls” Khan added.