Aiia Maasarwe's Sister Calls out Violence against Women in Emotional Instagram Posts

By Jack Kerr
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
January 21, 2019

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-22/aiia-maasarwe-sister-calls-out-violence-against-women/10735000

A sister of killed exchange student Aiia Maasarwe has taken to social media to express her grief over the death, and her contempt for the manner in which it is alleged to have happened.

"A little girl with BIG dreams, that how Aiia was," Noor Maasarwe posted on Instagram alongside a painting of the words "Dare to dream", which was done by her sister in 2014.

"She was living a dream in Melbourne, a dream that ended up being [worse] than a nightmare."

The body of the 21-year-old Arab-Israeli student was found by passers-by near a tram stop in Bundoora, in Melbourne's north, shortly after dawn last Wednesday.

Police allege she was raped and murdered on her way home from a comedy club in North Melbourne shortly after midnight. They have charged 20-year-old Codey Herrmann.

Ms Maasarwe — a student gifted in foreign languages who was midway through a one-year exchange at La Trobe University — is believed to have been on the phone to a younger sister at the time of the attack.

Aiia Maasarwe smiles and holds the two-fingered peace sign up with both hands.

PHOTO: Aiia Maasarwe was described by a family member as adventurous, silly and very smart. (Instagram: Ruba Photography)

'It is a men issue'

Noor Maasarwe used the post to rail against male brutality, writing that "violence against women is not a women issue, it is a men issue".

"We tell women if they feel unsafe to make a call so that they can feel safe, but Aiia was on the phone with my sister Ruba when all that [happened]," she wrote.

She then asked what men are told to do, replying: "we tell them nothing! That's what we tell them".

The post also features anti-violence hashtags such as #women_life_matter and #we_have_the_right_to_live.

She said the "love, care and support" shown by people from around the world was a reminder "that there are still good people in the world".

An Instragram post showing a painting with the words "Dare to dream" against a nightsky.

PHOTO: Noor Maasarwe has railed against male violence towards women, writing that "we tell them nothing" about the issue. (Instagram)

In the second post, a pair of white canvas sneakers are seen next to a poster displaying the hand-drawn words "Everyone has the right to get home safely".

A similar poster was left at a memorial to Ms Maasarwe at the site where her body was found last week.

"This is not just a pair of shoes, this is a pair of shoes with a meaning, this is the same shoes Aiia was wearing when she got murdered," Noor Maasarwe's post said.

The sisters both bought a pair of the same shoes together, it said.

Death sparks community grief and anger

Ms Maasarwe is the second Melbourne woman in little more than six months to be killed as she made her way home, and her death has reignited a passionate conversation about women's safety on the streets.

Jaymes Todd, 19, pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of aspiring comedian Eurydice Dixon last year.

In 2012, Jill Meagher was raped and murdered while she was walking home in Brunswick, also in Melbourne's north.

"I am so thoroughly sick to my stomach of men murdering women," tweeted her widower, Tom Meagher, last week.

"The human cost of male violence is staggering, the incalculable social trauma and human misery it engenders is soul destroying. Its weight is intolerable. RIP Aiia and love to her family."

Vigils were held for Ms Maasarwe at La Trobe on Friday and on the steps of Melbourne's Parliament House that evening, before a memorial tram followed the route of her final trip home, stopping to pick up flowers from grieving Melburnians along the way.

PHOTO: Protesters in Ms Maasarwe's hometown of Baka al Gharbiye over the weekend. (Supplied: Kasheefcom)

Rallies calling for an end to gendered violence were also held in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide on the weekend.

"We have the right to be safe, to claim our space, to be respected and have our voices heard — so I want to hear your voice right now!" broadcaster Yumi Stynes told the Sydney rally.

In her hometown of Baka al Gharbiye, a majority Palestinian locality in northern Israel, women also gathered to call for an end to violence against women, with locals holding signs that read "the blood of women is not [cheaper than men's]".

Noor Maasarwe and younger sister Ruba were amongst those in attendance.

'See the light in the dark'

Ms Maasarwe's body was released by the coroner yesterday and underwent an Islamic cleansing ritual, called a Janazah, as the family prepared to return her to Israel today for burial.

"Look in the stars just to see the light in the dark," her father, Saeed, said last night, following an outside prayer service attended by some family members and dozens of other supporters.

"This I studied from Aiia … I wish all the people see the light, and go to the light, don't be in the dark."

Mr Maasarwe also issued a plea for peace.

"We want to make the world more peace, more safety, more beautiful and more smiles," he said.

"This is the message … we want to send."

At Melbourne Airport this afternoon, Mr Maasarwe thanked Australians for their support, and said he was taking all the cards and gifts left for his daughter back to Baka al Gharbiye, where thousands of people are expected to pay their respects at her funeral.

He said he would discuss plans for a permanent memorial in Bundoora with his family and the State Government at a later stage.

"Because now the pain is very, very big," he said.