Their Light Remains 2022 — SOUTH ASIAN SOAR

A Letter to Our Community

Firstly, thank you for being here. This year, our community suffered the loss of 10 beautiful souls to disturbing acts of gender-based violence. These individuals were our community members, our friends, our family. We cannot, and should not, end this year without pausing to remember and honor the fullness of their lives. This pause is a vital step not only in the journey towards healing, but also for our ability to reimagine a way forward. With that in mind, we offer Their Light Remains, a tribute to the lives we lost and a reminder to let their light guide us.

In Their Light Remains, we honor the lives of—

Sadia Manzoor (age 49), Khadija Mohammad (age 4), & Inayat Bibi
Saima Tasnim Shapla (age 22)
Sania Khan (age 29)
Mandeep Kaur (age 30)
Gurpreet Kaur Dosanjh (age 33)
& the names we don’t and won’t know

TO SURVIVORS— Please know that you are loved, believed, and embraced by a community of other survivors, activists, and advocates who stand firmly with and alongside you. You inspire change within this movement, our communities, and ourselves, and you are the leaders of that change.

TO THE PEOPLE ON THE FRONTLINES— All too often, this work requires us to move from one crisis to the next, without stopping to ask what we need for ourselves and our communities. When we convened last month, there was an overwhelming desire to move beyond urgency. We ask you to take this moment to pause, reflect on, and begin to heal from the weight of this year, and then move forward to boldly reimagine a future free of violence.

TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY— You may be grasping for answers as to how and why these tragedies occurred, and what you, and we, can do to end gender-based violence.

For too long, our communities have treated domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence, as a “private family matter” that takes place “behind closed doors.” The reality is that there are a myriad of cultural and structural factors that enable violence and prevent individuals from finding safety. Culturally, this happens when “family honor” is prioritized over individual well-being and safety. Communities and families pressure individuals to stay in unhealthy relationships and stigmatize divorce. Structurally, our systems—the law, public benefits, housing, health, immigration—are not set up to support survivors and often ultimately lead them to being denied access to safety and justice.

Gender-based violence is inseparable from every other crisis we face: gun violence, health and mental health inequities, reproductive injustice, economic injustice, and more. And, each of the individuals we lost this year experienced violence at the intersections of one or more of these crises. Nevertheless, the media and our communities tend to place blame on those experiencing violence for not being “the perfect victim.” This myth––constructed through cultural and structural violence––tells us that a person’s safety and protection is their responsibility, and theirs alone. However, this simply is not true. Each one of us plays a powerful role in shaping our communities, and we must hold ourselves, and each other, accountable to co-creating safety.

Across the US, there are over 40 organizations that have been founded to serve South Asian survivors and end gender-based violence, and they have been doing this work for decades. Let this be a moment to reaffirm our commitment to joining, uplifting, and supporting them to further the critical work of establishing safety and preventing violence.

In our boldest vision, Their Light Remains cultivates a lasting remembrance of the lives we lost and serves as the foundation for a sustained and collective movement of uprooting violence in our communities. Together, and only together, we can liberate our communities from violence.

In solidarity and with love,
SOAR

If you are called to act in this moment, here’s what you can do: