Hira Anwar was like most other teenagers growing up in New York. She was sweet, she used social media, she went to the mall, she messed around with friends – but only outside of class.
However, the typical 14-year-old American garnered international headlines for all the wrong reasons. She went with relatives to Pakistan on what she thought was a vacation. There, her father, Anwar ul-Haq, and uncle plotted and executed her in the middle of a street in a tiny town, local police said.
They called it an ‘honor killing.’
Her family was shamed by her TikTok and lifestyle, her dad claimed. One of a typical American kid.
Hira’s death has sent shockwaves through the school she attended in Yonkers, New York, and across the globe. A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Pakistan told The Independent said it was “deeply saddened” by Hira’s murder and it “stands ready” to assist authorities in the investigation.
“Our condolences go out to the victim’s family and loved ones. We are providing all appropriate consular assistance,” the statement said.
Hira’s family has reportedly lived in the U.S. for 25 years and her father worked as an Uber driver, according to the New York Times. Hira was born and raised Yonkers and her father holds U.S. citizenship, according to police official Babar Baloch in Pakistan. He has two other daughters, according to the Times.
Her U.S. friends described her as a typical kid whose dad would drop her off to meet up with her classmates.
A friend from School 16 described Hira as “a typical” teenager. “She liked being with her friends at recess, she would just be with friends enjoying herself,” the student told The Independent via a parent. “It didn’t matter where it was, she just liked being outside…spending time with her friends. The mall, movies…”
The student’s parent, who The Independent agreed not to name, said that her child went to the mall with Hira and another friend in the weeks before she was taken to Pakistan.
“She told a few kids she was going to Pakistan for a vacation,” the mom said, adding that she was in disbelief about what happened to Hira.
“She was a typical 14-year-old girl,” she added. “Didn’t dress provocatively, wore baggy clothes. Hardly wore any makeup. She was a sweet kid.”
Police in Pakistan said Anwar told them that Hira began creating “objectionable” content on TikTok when she lived in the U.S. and continued to share videos while she was in the Asian country.
But Hira’s friends are said to be bewildered by the claims about her TikTok activity.
“They don’t know anything about a TikTok,” the mom said of her child and another classmate who was reportedly close to Hira. “She never mentioned anything about having a TikTok and they never really even asked to be honest with you,” the mom said, adding that if Hira posted as much as her father claimed she did then they would be following her account.
A TikTok account classmates say belonged to Hira, seen by The Independent, only has three followers and no posts.
There is more activity on an Instagram account believed to be Hira’s. She shared pictures and video on her profile at the Wagar Border in the north of India and Pakistan on January 20, according to her social media profile reviewed by The Independent. Hira is not visible in the posts on the most recent trip to Pakistan and she shared pictures of the scenery and shops she visited.
The killing, and the so-called reason behind it, have shocked her classmates and their parents in the U.S.
“You raise her in New York for 14 years of her life and you’re surprised at how she’s become accustomed to American culture and norms,” the mom said in disbelief, “and then you just decide to take her back to the country and kill her for that…”
Hira’s school has reached out to its community to offer thoughts about her death. A letter from School 16’s principal Dr. Vanessa Vasquez, seen by The Independent, was shared with parents on February 3.
It warned parents that their children may come across social media and news reports relating to Hira’s death. “This is a heartbreaking loss for our school community, and our hearts are with the student’s family and friends during this difficult time,” Vasquez said in the letter.
The Independent has contacted Yonkers Public Schools for comment
Classmates held a small memorial ceremony for Hira at the school after teachers told them of her passing. They paid tribute to “how strong-willed of a person she was” and how she “didn’t let anything bother her, she just did her own thing.”
The teenager’s death has event raised alarms for non-profits groups. The U.S. born native being gunned down by her only family has left them shocked. But, they say Hira is not the only case.
“Hira did not die because of her TikTok posts,” Kavita Mehra, executive director of Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, a New York-based nonprofit, told The Independent. “To frame her murder as a simple clash between modernity and tradition does a disservice to her life and the broader systemic issues at play. This violence is not about culture or religion—it is about power and control over gendered bodies. The policing of women and girls exists worldwide, and the same systems that enable so-called ‘honor-based’ violence abroad are mirrored in domestic violence, reproductive control, and state-sanctioned harm here in the U.S.”
According to the organization, 48 percent of South Asians in the U.S. experience gender-based violence at least once in their lifetime, a rate higher than the national average.
“Hira was a teenager who deserved a future,” Mehra continued. “She should have been able to grow up free from fear, to define her own identity, and to move through the world with safety and dignity. The injustice of her death is compounded by a culture of silence, where abuse is too often hidden behind closed doors or dismissed as a ‘family matter.’ But let us be clear: there is no honor in violence, only loss.”
