By Gaulbert Sutherland
Looking to begin life anew after separating from an abusive husband, a 22-year-old woman was instead found dead yesterday, her throat slit, after she had gone to her former home at Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) to collect her clothes. The body of Shaneiza Khan, the mother of a five-year-old girl was discovered by her sister, Faneeza, at Khan’s former Enmore residence, a home that she had shared with her reputed husband for four years before moving out a month ago.
Police were yesterday seeking the man, who has not been seen since. A bloody knife was discovered on the bed in the one-room building. Khan’s fully-clothed body was lying next to the bed and relatives said that there were signs that a struggle had taken place.
Sitting on the steps of her Foulis, ECD home yesterday, a grief-stricken Bibi Nazmoon Hamid, Khan’s mother spoke of the abuse that her daughter had endured at the hands of her reputed husband. “He always threaten she, always beat she and we does make plenty report at de police station but they never do nothing”, the tearful woman said.
She recalled speaking with her daughter on Saturday, just before she had gone to her former home to collect her clothes. Hamid said that Khan left at 1 pm on that day and never returned. She had been staying at her mother’s home after moving out from her Enmore residence four weeks ago. The woman said that at about 10 am yesterday she received a call and a neighbour told her that they had heard screams in the night and said that they had called for Shaneiza but received no response and the place was closed.
Hamid said that she immediately called the police but they advised her to send someone to check and she sent another daughter, Faneeza. She recounted that when Faneeza arrived at the home and discovered what had happened, she called her. “She start foh holler and she seh that the man kill she (Shaneiza) and seh she done dead”, Hamid cried.
As some relatives built a tent to hold a wake and others talked quietly among themselves and with Khan’s daughter by her side, the grieving woman lamented the manner in which her daughter met her death. She said that from the first time that the couple began living together, Khan and her reputed husband always had problems and many times, she moved out of the home and had come to live with her but the man always begged for Khan to return and she always relented.
Hamid said that the man was very jealous and always wanted to know where Khan was and several times beat her in full public view and even exhibited his behaviour towards her daughter in front of her. She said that in recent times, his behaviour had gotten worse. “He always tell she if she lef am, he gon kill she…they doan live good”, she declared noting that he had even told her daughter this in front of her. She said that he often took away Khan’s belongings and also verbally abused her and though the matter was reported to the police several times, nothing was ever done. The woman, tears streaming down her face said that her daughter had always called her when the couple had had their fights but this stopped after the man took away Khan’s cellular phone. “She always call me pun a response”, the woman said stating that had her daughter had her phone, she would have called on Saturday night. She said that at some point within any week her daughter would move in with her after a fight.
The woman said that recently this became too much for Khan and she moved in with her over a month ago and lately landed a job. She was going for her clothes when she was killed. Hamid recalled last seeing her daughter before she left and speaking with her during which Khan revealed that she was going for her clothes and though Hamid said she urged her not to, the young woman still went. She received the fateful call yesterday.
Khan leaves to mourn her daughter, mother, five sisters, a brother, her father, step-father and other relatives. A post-mortem examination is expected to take place today.
In recent times, domestic violence has claimed the lives of several persons, including a man. Earlier this month, on April 9 a taxi-driver was charged with the mother of his two children. The man, Haslyn Hodge was remanded to prison for allegedly murdering Tamasha Riddle. A post-mortem examination found that she had been hit several times in the head and strangled. Her face was in a pillow-case when she was discovered. Just two days earlier, a 71-year-old woman, Jahora Ramnauth was remanded to prison after allegedly beating her 45-year-old reputed husband, Subaschand to death.
