Aiia Maasarwe’s sister calls out violence against women in emotional social media posts
An image from Noor Maasarwe's Instagram account. Photo: Instagram/Noor Maasarwe
A sister of murdered 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.
‘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”.
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.
‘See the light in the dark’
Ms Maasarwe’s body was released by the coroner on Monday and underwent an Islamic cleansing ritual, called a Janazah, as the family prepared to return her to Israel on Tuesday 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.”
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