Arthur’s Seat memorial for Leeds woman killed by husband

The mother of a pregnant woman who was pushed off a cliff by her husband is to visit the scene of her murder for the first time to unveil a memorial.

Yasmin Javed said the bench in her daughter Fawziyah’s name at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh would be a lasting tribute to “all women” killed by abusive partners.

Fawziyah, 31, from Leeds, died after Kashif Anwar shoved her off a 50ft (15m) cliff as they walked on the hill on 2 September 2021.

The solicitor, who was 17 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, had previously reported her husband’s violent and controlling behaviour to West Yorkshire Police (WYP.)

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the force’s response to Fawziyah’s case.

The memorial bench at the bottom of Arthur’s Seat will be unveiled later by Ms Javed and the charity Karma Nirvana, which supports victims of honour-based abuse, on the third anniversary of her murder.

Fawziyah’s mother told the BBC it would be “very difficult” to visit the site of her daughter’s death, saying: “Who wants to go to the place where their child was brutally murdered? But I think it’s very important that I am there.

“The bench represents all women who lost their lives the way Fawziyah did and the fact they’ve not been forgotten. It’s a symbol of hope.”

Ms Javed said her family had been “absolutely destroyed” by the murder of her “perfect” daughter.

She added: “Our life revolved around Fawziyah and we don’t have a life any more, we are just existing.

“I’m just pushing through time. I’m in so much pain and grief. People think three years on things will be better but they’re not, it’s getting more and more difficult.

“My pain and grief is as raw and fresh as the day it happened.”

Fawziyah plunged from a rocky outcrop on Arthur’s Seat during a trip to Edinburgh with her husband. As she lay dying, she told a police officer Anwar had pushed her.

Anwar was jailed for a minimum of 20 years in April 2023 after being convicted of murder and causing the death of her unborn child.

A trial at the High Court in Edinburgh heard Anwar had previously knocked Fawziyah unconscious, smothered her with a pillow, and punched her.

Fawziyah’s mother said she believed “jealous and insecure” Anwar resented his wife’s independence and had become “controlling and abusive” almost immediately after the couple married in December 2020.

“He’d block male members of her family from Fawziyah’s phone, he wouldn’t let her talk to her friends, he didn’t even like her coming to visit her parents,” she added.

In a recording Fawziyah secretly made, her husband told her to stop behaving like a “British woman”.

Fawziyah spoke to WYP twice about Anwar’s behaviour in April and August 2021 – the second occasion coming three days before the couple’s trip to Edinburgh.

Her mother told the BBC she believed her daughter would still be alive if the force had “done their job right”.

Ms Javed said Fawziyah had told a police officer she was going to leave her husband but was not told that this, as well as her pregnancy, put her at higher risk of domestic abuse.

She said the force “should have done more to protect” her daughter.

Ms Javed added she wanted to see “tougher” sentences for perpetrators of domestic violence as well as better protections for women who contacted police.

The IOPC said it was investigating two complaints made by Fawziyah’s family about WYP.

The police watchdog told the BBC it was reviewing 999 call recordings and interviewing police witnesses as it examined steps taken by the force to safeguard Fawziyah and assess the risk her husband posed.

It said it was also looking at officers’ actions following her death, including whether “discriminatory behaviour may have influenced the treatment of the family”.

The family’s complaints were referred to the police watchdog in April this year after an internal probe by the police.

The force’s contact with Fawziyah before her death is also being scrutinised by a Domestic Homicide Review overseen by Leeds City Council.

A WYP spokesperson said: “The Domestic Homicide Review process looks to identify any lessons to be learned about the way in which agencies work to safeguard victims of domestic abuse, how agencies will respond to any lessons, and how agencies can improve their response to prevent domestic homicides.”

The council said it expected the findings of the review to be published next year.

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