Charlotte Minter
Published March 2, 2026 12:01am
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Shakira Khan was a contestant on last summer’s Love Island, and finished in second place (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Shakira Khan came runner-up on Love Island 2025 alongside her partner Harry Cooksley – now she’s using her platform to bring awareness to domestic abuse.
The 23-year-old was celebrated not only for her romantic connection on the show, but also her friendship with fellow finalists Toni Laites and Yasmin Pettet.
From the fierce loyalty she showed her girls during the season, it’s clear she wants to support other women – and her involvement with Refuge’s Home is Where the Hurt is campaign for International Women’s Day continues to prove that.
Metro spoke to Shakira about her experience witnessing domestic abuse while growing up British-Pakistani in Burnley, Lancashire.
‘That is the norm, domestic abuse is allowed,’ she said.
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Shakira was keen to clarify she’d never witnessed violence in her own home, but she’d seen it in her wider circle of family and friends.
The TV star remains close friends with her fellow finalists (Picture: Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)
Shakira said she’s always known if she had a platform, she’d want to use her voice for other (Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock)
‘Whether that be people I’ve gone to school with and their mothers have gone through it, or colleagues with husbands who are coercing and controlling them.
‘It is completely normal, which is a real shame.’
Although she pointed out it’s not the case for all South Asian families, Shakira argued that her culture plays a part in normalising this behaviour.
She said: ‘I think what it stems back to is that it’s been years and years of oppression against women, where they are almost property of the man.’
Giving examples, Shakira explained: ‘I know there have been women who I’ve spoken to and their husbands don’t let them go shopping, don’t let them go out and see their friends.
‘He drops them off outside of work, picks them up outside of work, and there’s no other contact except the people at work. So that is like their sanctuary and they dread going home.’
After leaving the villa, she appeared on shows like Loose Women and Lorraine (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Emphasising how it can affect not just the women in families but also the kids, she said: ‘Some of the children I went to school with would want to do every afterschool club on earth, because they didn’t want to go home.’
Years later, and Shakira thinks domestic abuse continues to be prevalent in her community now.
Being witness to this perceived normality has shaped her in ways that she reflected on with Metro.
‘It made me angry, but also in a way that I could channel it into a passion, to do something about it.’
She elaborated: ‘There’s like two ways you can react to a situation. You can be angry and then keep being angry and inflict that on somebody else. I could go and abuse my children, for example.
‘Or you can decide to break that cycle and do something about it. And that’s what I would like to do. I don’t want anybody to go through domestic abuse.’
Shakira wants to help future generations make positive changes for the South Asian community (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Refuge: Home is Where The Hurt is
In England and Wales, one in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and 75 women were killed by a current or former partner or family member in the year ending March 2025.
Refuge’s International Women’s Day campaign, Home is Where the Hurt Is, exposes a devastating truth: the most dangerous place for a woman is her own home.
Watch the charity's campaign film here to learn more.
Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available on 0808 2000 247 for free, confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you or someone close to you has felt unsafe at home because of a current or former partner or family member, you can also contact Refuge here.
The influencer from season 12 of the hit ITV show wants to change things for future generations by encouraging people to challenge behaviours with the appropriate support behind them.
That’s where Refuge comes in, who offer a 24/7 domestic abuse helpline and a live chat service.
Shakira acknowledged that asking for help might not feel so simple for somebody from a South Asian background.
‘I think it can be embarrassing, culturally. […]
‘You’re meant to stay in marriage. Divorce is very stigmatised.
‘Leaving someone is stigmatised – you’re property of your husband, if you have children with them, that’s another external factor.
Shakira recounted an incident at work which turned in ‘a whole HR palava’ (Picture: Alan West/Hogan Media/Shuttersto)
‘So, I think a lot of women I’ve spoken to feel very trapped and that there’s nothing that they can do. So, they put up with it and feel like there’s no other choice.’
Shakira recounted an incident at work where she challenged a colleague who said if their wife talked back to them, then they’d ‘slap her’.
She said it turned into ‘a whole HR palaver’ and acknowledged that confrontation is ‘not always the right way.’
‘I think it can also put you in a dangerous position fighting back. I wouldn’t recommend that. I think the thing to do is to speak to somebody.’
The reality TV star also wanted to reinforce the idea that this is something that needs to be addressed by both genders: ‘Whether that be a son protecting a mother or not following in the footsteps of a father.
‘It’s not just for women; I really think that men should educate themselves on this too and start breaking down those generational patterns.’
Shakira thinks it’s everyone’s responsibility to stop abuse (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
When asked if she felt like there might be a fear from those outside the South Asian community of causing offence and being perceived as racist for implying abuse, Shakira responded: ‘Absolutely.
‘But anybody could be a victim of domestic abuse, whether that be male or female, any gender, any race.’
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‘I do think it could be a sensitive topic. […] But that’s why I would like to talk about it.
‘I’ve seen it firsthand within my extended family.
‘I am half South Asian. I went to a predominantly South Asian primary school, I come from a very diverse town.
‘So I know it exists – you hear all different kinds of stories, and it is very real.’
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