Zuher Ibrahim, Fordham Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ’22, died in her sleep on Sunday, April 24. She was 23 years old. 

Ibrahim, also known as “Zu” to her family and friends, was born on July 28, 1998, in Shire, a town in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and moved to Queens, New York when she was six months old. She identified closely with her Tigrayan-American heritage and became a part of the Tigray Action Committee, a group founded in January 2021 to help raise awareness about the ongoing genocide in Tigray.

“Zuher was a tireless and respected advocate for peace,” University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., said in an email sent to the Fordham community on April 25.

Ibrahim was set to graduate in May 2022 with a master of science in humanitarian studies, upon completion of her thesis in January 2022, according to her brother Fahme Ibrahim. In its reporting, Fordham News stated that the university will grant Ibrahim’s degree posthumously. 

Laura Perez, director of graduate studies at Fordham’s Institute of Humanitarian Affairs and Ibrahim’s adviser and instructor, told Fordham News that for Ibrahim, “the fight against injustice was at the forefront of her mind and really informed everything that she did.”

Prior to attending Fordham in 2020 for her master’s, Ibrahim graduated from Pace University with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. At Pace, she was also the university’s Title IX ambassador from August 2018 until her graduation in May 2020. In a Q&A interview with Pace, Ibrahim spoke about her work as the Title IX ambassador along with her post-undergraduate plans. 

“I plan to open my own pro bono clinic for unfair cases, including cases for sexual assault, and build a foundation in my hometown in Ethiopia, with a mission of education access, especially for young girls,” she said.

In the interview, Ibrahim added that she wanted to attend law school and have a career in politics that will benefit low-income communities and improve access to education both across the country and internationally. 

Maebel Gebremedhin, co-founder of the Tigray Action Committee and a friend of Ibrahim’s, spoke of Ibrahim’s commitment to Tigray as well as her character throughout their time together. 

“She was very quick to put herself on the back burner so that she could be there for whatever it was,” Gebremedhin said. 

Gebremedhin referred to Ibrahim as a “walking billboard for Tigray,” joking that the amount of Tigray-related merchandise she owned was “outrageous.” She also added that Ibrahim celebrated her heritage by identifying herself as Tigrayan-American and that “if you knew (Ibrahim) you knew about Tigray.”

The Tigray Action Committee, of which Ibrahim was a board member, organized a march from Washington Square Park to Canal Street that yielded over 5,000 attendees, according to Gebremedhin. She noted that it meant a lot to her and Ibrahim because they had spent so much time organizing the call to action and added that Ibrahim was a chanter for most of the committee’s protests. 

“Her voice was loud and present and clear, and what she had to say always mattered,” Gebremedhin said. 

“She was always very supportive of my passions and she always tried to actually help in that aspect as best as she could,” Fahme Ibrahim, Zuher Ibrahim’s younger brother

Growing up, Ibrahim was set on pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry and attended a health sciences high school. Once she enrolled in college, however, she decided to major in political science which came as a shock to the family, according to Ibrahim’s younger brother, Fahme. 

He also mentioned how different he and his sister were from one another in terms of their interests and added that a lesson he learned from her was to “stay true to who you are.”

“She was always very supportive of my passions and she always tried to actually help in that aspect as best as she could,” he said.

Fahme graduated from Babson College in 2022 with a degree in business administration and a focus on marketing. In a tweet he posted on Twitter, Fahme announced that he dedicated his degree to his older sister.  

Gebremedhin echoed this sentiment, using words such as considerate, resilient, driven, thoughtful, beautiful and selfless to describe Ibrahim.

Fahme described Ibrahim as strong and kind and noted that she was a “workaholic.” He added that she would always advise him to not stress and put a lot on his plate but that a lot of the advice she gave him, she herself would not follow. 

Gebremedhin echoed this sentiment, using words such as considerate, resilient, driven, thoughtful, beautiful and selfless to describe Ibrahim. She added that Ibrahim was generous with her time and would put others before herself. 

“She always cared about us and about the work and about our families versus herself,” she said. “I wish she had taken time for herself because she was more than deserving of it and we always asked her to, but she really, really gave herself to Tigray.” 

Aside from working for the Tigray Action Committee, Ibrahim had a full-time job, volunteered for three other Tigray-related organizations and helped her friends and family, according to Gebremedhim. Ibrahim was also the co-host of a political podcast called “Just Too Opinionated” that discussed topics regarding presidential elections, identity politics and more. 

Ibrahim and her younger brother were very close, with Fahme describing them as a unit and adding that they spent “all of (their) waking moments together.” He also said that when he went away for college, they would FaceTime every single day. One of his favorite memories with his older sister was hanging out with their friends after school instead of going to tutoring classes. 

When talking about her kindness, Fahme noted the outpour of support and messages from different people throughout Ibrahim’s life as an example of her impact on others. 

A fundraiser created by the Tigray Club raised over $50,000 for Ibrahim’s funeral and other related expenses.

“Seeing how many people knew her, were friends with her, respected her, I did not know it was this many people,” he said. “It is incredible to see so many people loved her and respected her and cared about her and it is a wonderful thing to see.”

A fundraiser created by the Tigray Club raised over $50,000 for Ibrahim’s funeral and other related expenses. She is survived by her parents, Aziza and Ali; her younger brother Fahme; and her grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. Ibrahim was laid to rest on April 27, with the funeral service following the Islamic funeral ritual.