Time for Mauritius to Take a Stand Against Femicide

My viewpoint on the two femicides that occurred within just fifteen days is one of anger, frustration, and despair that this state of affairs continues to persist.

Since 2022, I have been continuously working on this issue — through awareness and sensitization campaigns via the media and social media, by writing articles, and by engaging in community outreach. On 18 November 2023, through my NGO MPower, we held our first workshop on Femicide and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and developed a list of recommendations that we shared publicly.

It is damning that three years later, we are witnessing the same tragedies repeating themselves again and again.

A Deeply Rooted Problem

As a society, we must create families that provide every individual with a safe and secure environment to grow and thrive — an environment free from all forms of violence, especially the most extreme form of GBV: femicide.

A woman who is in an intimate relationship with a man must be able to know — with certainty — that the man she loves and had children with, formed a family, will not one day kill her or attempt to kill her.

We have seen femicide cases and attempted femicides across all social strata in Mauritius — among the rich, the middle class, and the lower middle class. In many cases, it happens when the woman has left the man or intends to leave him. Too often, that is the moment when the man tries to kill her — and sometimes succeeds.

Understanding Femicide

Femicide has a broader definition than simply the killing of a woman by her intimate partner. It is the leading cause of unnatural death among women globally and the seventh leading cause of premature death for women worldwide (Dayan & Bitton, 2022, p. 3).

The killing of women by their male partners is typically understood as a gendered killing, as the relationship itself — and the power and control dynamics within it — are central to the act of violence (Pierobom de Avila, 2018; Walklate et al., 2020, p. 7).

The Way Forward

The prevention of femicide requires a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach that addresses the root causes and underlying societal norms. This includes:

• Strengthening laws and policies that specifically target violence against women.
• Ensuring effective collaboration among key stakeholders — such as the police, the judiciary and legal profession, the government, and civil society.

Because when a woman is killed, the entire family unit collapses. The woman is gone. The murderer goes to prison. But what happens to the children?

We cannot ignore the devastating trauma they experience — witnessing their mother’s murder and their father becoming her killer. This crime creates deep, intergenerational wounds, particularly in a small country like Mauritius, where communities are closely connected and memories run long.

What Can We Do to Combat Femicide?

We cannot, and must not, allow this crime to become normalized. Urgent and concrete measures must be taken.

Here are six essential steps I advocate to eradicate femicide:

1. Ratify the 2025 African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls. It defines femicide and positive masculinity inter alia. Mauritius is a member of AU.
2. Define femicide clearly in our criminal law and enact a section that specifically criminalizes it.
3. Impose stricter sanctions for perpetrators who kill their intimate partners.
4. Strengthen sensitization and capacity-building of all stakeholders, including the judiciary.
5. Introduce education on ending violence against women and girls from the primary school level for all children, irrespective of gender.
6. Engage men and boys as allies in the fight against femicide.

A Call to Action

Killing a woman destroys more than a life — it destroys a family, a community, and a nation’s moral fabric. The children left behind carry invisible scars that shape their futures and, ultimately, our collective destiny.

Femicide is not just a “women’s issue.” It is a national issue, a justice issue, and above all, a human issue.

We must act now — as individuals, as professionals, as citizens — to build a Mauritius where no woman lives in fear, and where every person can thrive in safety, dignity, and equality.

This dated archive preserves the author’s original commentary. It is general information, not legal advice, and may not reflect current law.