The world’s history is stained by a menacing femicide, the systematic felony often defined as the intentional killing of women and girls by men because of their gender. Can we say that the world is failing women as these dangerous elements are persistently striking?
It is around half a century since the idea of femicide was conceived and propagated by feminists. Although men are the most common victims of homicide, women are far more likely to be killed by men than by other women. Therefore, identifying the scale of the problem allows us to see the enormity of the loss. The point, however, is not merely identifying a predicament but challenging ourselves to recognise and act upon it to ensure the safety of women and girls.
India was ranked as the most dangerous country for women among the world’s 10 biggest economies, according to the Thompson Reuters Foundation Survey in 2018. India has been living with a femicide disease which has been afflicting many innocent souls for a long time. The Nirbhaya case of 2012 in which a 22-year-old psychotherapy intern was beaten, gang-raped and tortured in a private bus in Delhi is a human catastrophe that we must admit and detest as unforgettable.
“All our dreams have been shattered in one night. We sent her to work and the hospital gave us her body. It’s all finished for us. My daughter isn’t coming back. I’m never going to hear her voice or laugh. All I can do now is concentrate on getting her justice.”
That was the agonising expression of the father of 31-year-old doctor, victim of rape and murder in the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, India.
On January 18, 2024, the chorus and tumultuous slogan “For Guilia and for all” echoed through the streets of Italy. Thousands of women, activists and supporters showed solidarity with the 22-year-old student, Guilia Cecchettin, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend on the night of November 11, 2023. The outrage over the gruesome murder of the young student unleashed a wave of protest that was audible far beyond the country’s borders.
America is not excluded from this terrifying evil. On the average, 70 American women are shot and killed by their intimate partners every month. In America, April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. While few Americans realise the existence of femicide, a report entitled “Behind Closed Doors: Exposing and Addressing Harmful Gender-Based Practices in the United States” sheds more light on the prevalence and deeply rooted femicide in American culture. This is not a social cancer to be ignored but the report shows that it occurs “behind closed doors”.
A wave of emotions swayed back and forth between disbelief, grief and anger as South Africa’s femicide was rated five times higher than the global average. On the average, 9 women were murdered in South Africa every day in 2022. South Africa has a preponderant problem with femicide and violence against women. In 2020, an average of one woman died at the hands of her intimate partner every eight hours, according to a study by the University of Free State.
In Nigeria, the rate of femicide occurrence is very alarming. The case of Paul Jeremiah, a 20-year-old undergraduate who kidnapped, murdered and mutilated a 19-year-old student of the Federal University, Lafia will remain a horrible tale. In another tragic episode, Justina Nkang was murdered and dismembered by her boyfriend, Damian Okoligwe, a 400-level student of Petrochemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt. The deceased was a 300-level undergraduate student. It was recorded that 401 women died from sexual and gender-based violence in 2022 alone in Nigeria.
According to researches, the most widespread form of universal femicide is that committed by an intimate partner of a female. This accounts for approximately 38.6 per cent of all murders of women globally. Yearly, an average of 66,000 women are violently killed all over the world. In 2022, the number of women and girls killed by men globally was almost 89,000. About six years ago, the NTA aired the news of a man in Delta State who sexually assaulted a female corps member from Kwara State in the bush and subsequently murdered her. The tragic narratives of this human catastrophe are both numerous and devilish.
The Blueprint newspaper of September 24, 2024 carried a report entitled “FAME Foundation raises alarm over ‘growing femicide’, demands action”. FAME Foundation is a non- governmental organisation established to solicit, encourage and advance the social, emotional and economic well-being of women and girls. Its Executive Director, Arabinrin Aderonke Atoyebi, said, “Femicide has become a pandemic, and it’s imperative we declare a state of emergency.”
While appreciating the vital role of FAME in the campaign to tackle femicide in Nigeria, it is also necessary for all to be active partners in curtailing this gender-based violence. Also, FAME is advocating for the conduct of research on femicide, emphasising the urgency for raising awareness about supporting victims through outreach and breaking the silence surrounding femicide by deploying the effective mechanism of public education. The media can be in the lead in pushing that this gigantic task be fully supported by human rights organisations and all formidable institutions. All hands must be on deck to ensure strict legislation, compliance and execution of laws pertaining to femicide.
In a nutshell, therefore, our world is not designed to be a hostile and aggressive environment for women and girls. Their invaluable life is sacred and must be safeguarded through the emotional tools of piety and love. Sack femicide now!
*Abdullahi can be reached at aaringim68@gmail.com
