Thread by @NBCNews

29-year-old Sania Khan documented her divorce, the stigma she faced and the process of starting her life over on TikTok. Then, she was allegedly shot to death by her estranged husband. #NBCNewsThreads (1/10) nbcnews.to/3bbUwRq

Khan had gotten out. She had separated from her husband earlier this year, despite pressure from her family, and moved into her own place in Chicago, miles away from the man she described as “toxic.” (2/10)

Raheel Ahmad made the 11-hour drive from his Georgia home to Khan’s Chicago apartment, where he allegedly came to kill her. Coroners identified the bodies found by police as Khan and Ahmad; they ruled her death a homicide and his a suicide. (3/10)

As a Pakistani American, Khan’s killing sent shock waves through the diaspora. Other South Asian women who have been through divorces say they have faced the same stigmas and isolation when trying to leave abusive partners. (4/10)

“I could see myself in her,” said one Marathi woman who also said her ex-husband had threatened to harm her and her children. “He wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me,” she said. (5/10) nbcnews.com/news/asian-ame…

Experts say Khan’s death and the posts she made leading up to it have brought to the surface overdue conversations about shaming, sexism and patriarchy across the South Asian diaspora. (6/10)

In South Asian communities, the pressure to get married and stay married goes beyond the individual. Survivors say that growing up, they were pressured to “just say yes” for the good of the family. (7/10)

Rachna Khare, Houston Day executive director, says there’s one ideology that holds firm among all of the survivors she’s worked with: “One thread that ties every survivor that we have worked with together is this lingering thought of, ’What will people say.’” (8/10)

Patriarchal systems create South Asian men who are raised to feel more valuable than women, said Neha Gill, executive director at Apna Ghar. “There shouldn’t be this inherent ‘boys are better’ thing” she said. (9/10)

When trying to leave her husband, the U.S. felt like an isolating place, the Marathi survivor said. “I was drowning,” she said. “And people didn’t want to help.” (10/10) nbcnews.com/news/asian-ame…