Silent vigil to be held to 'bring home' Londoner Zara Aleena

Hundreds of people are expected to gather Saturday afternoon for a silent vigil in honor of Zara Aleena to “walk her home.”

The 35-year-old law graduate was just minutes from her front door when she was attacked and killed as she walked home along Cranbrook Road in Ilford, east London, on June 26.

On Saturday, nearly a week after her death, a vigil was held by Ms Aleena’s family in an attempt to bring comfort to their grieving loved ones while highlighting the epidemic of male violence against women and girls.

Zara Aleena dies — Zara Aleena, 35, was killed on Sunday in Ilford, an area she knew very well (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Speaking to the media on Friday, Ms Aleena’s aunt said her niece was in her own local community, in an area she knew well and felt safe in, when she was attacked.

Farah Naz said the family was determined to try to “change something” and force Britain’s political leaders to act “immediately to prevent violence”.

She said: “(My niece) was aware that women were victims of violence. It’s not about making the streets safer, it’s about changing mindsets.”

Tearfully, Ms Naz added: “We will never get there, but this (the march) will help us.”

Farah Naz, maternal aunt of murdered law graduate Zara Aleena, during a media interview in east London — Farah Naz, the maternal aunt of murdered law graduate Zara Aleena, during a media interview in east London (Yui Mok/PA)

The vigil will take the form of a silent walk that will retrace the path Ms. Aleena took but was never able to complete, “to bring her safely back to where she needed to be.”

Participants in the march will meet at 1.30pm opposite Cranbrook Rise on Cranbrook Road in Ilford, and will begin the march at 2.17pm – the time on the morning of June 26 that Ms Aleena was attacked.

Her family asked attendees to wear white and remain “silent and somber” as “we walk Zara home to our hearts.”

Please read this powerful message from Zara Aleena’s family and join them in remembering her this Saturday at 1.30pm opposite Cranbrook Rise in Ilford.

Let us come together to honor her life and bring her home. pic.twitter.com/3PMbrZ4vd4

— EVAW Coalition (@EVAWuk) June 29, 2022

Ahead of the silent vigil for Ms Aleena, women shared photos of their shoes on social media with the hashtag #SafelyHomeInOurShoes.

The 35-year-old Londoner was walking home from a night out when she was dragged, kicked and stamped on, prosecutors said.

Court artist's sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jordan McSweeney appearing via video link from HMP Thameside during a hearing at the Old Bailey, London — Court artist’s sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jordan McSweeney, 29, appearing via video link from HMP Thameside during a hearing at the Old Bailey (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

An autopsy revealed she had suffered multiple serious injuries.

Jordan McSweeney, 29, of Church Elm Lane, Dagenham, east London, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday charged with murder, attempted rape and robbery.

He did not plead guilty and was remanded in custody.