Woman Opened Up About Her Divorce On TikTok, Then Her Husband Killed Her

Sania Khan, the creator of videos on TikTok about the trauma of a relationship gone wrong resulting in a divorce, has reportedly been murdered by her estranged husband. The 29-Year-Old had left Chicago, Illinois, on July 21st to begin a new chapter in her native Chattanooga, but instead, she returned in a casket that day.

Its alleged ex-husband Rahel Ahmad traveled from Georgia to Sania’s [pictured] home to kill her after she posted about their failed marriage on social media.

According to BBC, Sania had emerged as a voice for women fighting marriage trauma and divorce stigma. At the time she left her bad marriage, some members of her South Asian Muslim community made her feel like she had failed at life, but she greatly found support and comfort in strangers. On Instagram, where she first built a public platform, Sania described her passion for photography.

With her photo skills, Sania helps people fall in love with themselves & each other in front of the camera.

She photographed weddings, maternity shoots, baby showers, and different milestones, often for big clients and her friends. Sadly, Sania’s life has been cut short as her body had been found by local police, unresponsive near the front door of the Chicago condominium she had once shared with her estranged husband, Ahmad, 36. 

Sania allegedly had a gunshot wound to the back of her head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Ahmad also killed himself after carrying out the evil act. 

Local police told the Chicago Sun-Times the pair were going through a divorce, and Ahmad, who had lived in a different state while separated from Sania, traveled some 700miles back to their former home to salvage the marriage. The grisly murder-suicide has been considered tragic, and her death has shaken her friends. 

Accordingly, Sania’s death has awakened the voice of South Asian women, who claim they’ve felt the pressure to stay in unhealthy relationships for appearances.

Notably, Sania and Ahmad dated for about five years, married him in June 2021, and moved to Chicago together. A childhood friend recalled they had a fabulous big, fat Pakistani wedding, but the marriage was built on a foundation of lies and manipulation. It’s also claimed that Ahmad had long-standing mental health issues. 

With the couple being mainly in a long-distance relationship before marrying, Sania’s friend says it likely obscured the extent of their incompatibility. 

So far, members of the Khan family have refused to comment on the story, but friends alleged that while they told Sania to leave the marriage, others counseled her to stay in it. Ms. Brianna Williams, 26, said of her old friend: “She said 29 is going to be her year, and it’s going to be a new beginning. She was so excited.” Williams recalled a time Sania broke down when they met in Chicago, revealing her divorce was considered shameful and that she was incredibly lonely. 

Herself a child of divorce, Brianna said Sania had witnessed first-hand the stigma some South Asian communities attach to women who leave their marriages. 

Sania’s best friend, Mehru Sheikh, 31, added: “She was someone who would give you the shirt off her back. Even when she was going through some really tough times in her life, she would be the first to call you and ask you how your day is going. Behind the camera is where she came alive. She had a knack for making people comfortable in front of the camera, for capturing raw emotion and joy.”

Another friend, Naty, 28, who asked her surname be withheld, recalled the first time Sania went viral online.

@geminigirl_099 You’re a #southasianproblems #southasian #kendrick #southasianbaddies United In Grief – Kendrick Lamar

“She was blowing up on my phone, and she said this is what I’m meant to do. To spread the word about my relationship and be a leader for women leaving their toxic marriages.” Sania has since garnered over 200K followers on TikTok, and Bisma Parvez, 35, a fellow Pakistani-American Muslim woman, is one of them.

Bisma lamented Sania’s death in a TikTok Video, stating: “I remember, [after] the first video that I saw of hers, I just prayed for her.”

She added: “Women in these situations are told to have sabr [patience in Arabic], and in an abusive relationship, patience is not the answer.” However, the Chicago domestic violence organization Apna Ghar held a virtual panel discussion to commemorate Sania’s one-month death anniversary in July. The Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences has also established a memorial scholarship in her name.