The aspiring lawyer, killed in a London street attack, was empathetic and fearless, her aunt says.
Image source, Met PoliceA woman killed in a street attack in east London was loved by everyone, her aunt has said.
Zara Aleena, 35, was walking home along in Cranbrook Road, Ilford, when she was attacked in the early hours of Sunday.
Jordan McSweeney, 29, of Dagenham, has appeared in court charged with murder.
Her aunt Farah Naz said: “She was incredibly giving supportive, insightful… empathic and fearless. The one word that would describe Zara would be independent.”
She added: “That was what she valued more than anything: her independence. She was quite different to the rest of us because Zara didn’t have any fear.
“Whenever Zara walked, that was home for her because she knew everybody.”
‘Equal and strong’
Ms Naz said hundreds of people, many of whom the family had never met, had told them they had conversations with Zara following her death.
She described Ms Aleena, who had hoped to practise as a solicitor and had completed her Legal Practice Course, as “everyone’s daughter”.
Image source, Sherit Nair
She had recently started work at the Royal Courts of Justice, to complete a two-year work placement in order to become a fully qualified solicitor.
She said: “She never saw herself as less than a man she never, ever assumed that a man would see her less than either.
“She never thought that. She always saw herself as equal and strong, as powerful as capable.”
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