Malaysia, we need to talk about femicide

A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD was stabbed 61 times and left by the roadside in Kelantan. In Sabah, a woman was allegedly murdered and dismembered by her former fiancé after the breakdown of their engagement. Her body parts were discovered in rubbish bins across Sepanggar. In Perak, a woman lost her life in a violent killing that shocked the public and reignited questions about violence against women and institutional accountability.

These are not merely isolated murders. They are part of a disturbing pattern of gendered violence that Malaysia still struggles to confront honestly.