Women are still being killed for the simple act of existing. We do not want to be remembered in silence, in mourning, in the back pages of newspapers with our names followed by "yet another case." We cannot simply survive, we must live. Yet every day, somewhere in the world, a woman takes her last breath not because of a disease or an accident, but because a man decided her life was worth less than his pride, anger, or control.
It appears that justice is something we must carve out with our own bare hands given that from jail, men come out. Yet from the grave, women do not.
Femicide is not a crime of passion, nor a tragic misunderstanding - It is a consequence. A consequence of a world built on patriarchy, where men are taught dominance and women are taught survival. Where the moment a girl is born, she is handed a handbook of warnings: don't walk alone, don't wear that dress, don't say no too firmly, don't trust too easily, don't scream too loud.
But being careful is not a shield. Being silent is not protection. Being kind does not save us. Being a woman is difficult - but dying as a woman is easy. Too easy.
Laws do exist. However, what use is a law if it only applies after the coffin has been lowered? The law promises protection, but too often it arrives too late, or not at all. Restraining orders are slow, reports are dismissed, and victims are told to wait while their abusers roam free. Globally, the UN reports that 137 women die every day at the hands of someone they know. These are not tragedies. They are failures. We cannot legislate after blood has been spilled. Justice must be preventive, not reactive. And it must start young. We teach girls to be careful. We must teach boys to never become a threat. Consent, empathy, respect - these aren't optional lessons. They're life-saving ones.
In 2022, Malta introduced a legal definition of femicide in its Criminal Code, recognizing it as the gender-based killing of women. The law also removed the "crime of passion" defence, making sentences tougher for such crimes. Malta set up the Femicide Research and Advocacy Observatory to collect data and guide policy. Other actions include creating specialized police units, training healthcare workers, and enforcing the Istanbul Convention to improve protection, prevention, and coordination against gender-based violence.
Justice cannot be retroactive. It cannot be symbolic. It must be immediate. It must be structural. We need education that dismantles toxic masculinity, courts that endorse women's pleas, systems that intervene before it is too late.
Femicide is not an isolated or spontaneous act of violence, but rather the most extreme manifestation of deeply entrenched historical and societal structures. Rooted in centuries of patriarchal systems, it reflects a legacy in which women have been systematically subordinated and viewed as property or extensions of male authority. This long-standing culture of male entitlement fosters the belief that men have the right to control women's bodies, actions, and lives. When that perceived control is threatened, it can escalate into lethal violence. Femicide, therefore, must be understood within this broader historical and cultural context that continues to influence gender dynamics today.
Femicide is not a woman's issue or a private tragedy. It is a social emergency. And until we treat it as such, until we scream loud enough and until we fight hard enough, the list of names will grow.
How many more deaths will it take before people are uncomfortable enough to care?
These are not stories that I am writing on - these are massacres. And as a woman myself, I am terrified that one day, someone will have to write mine.