Why India Still Lacks a True Femicide Law Today?

India’s Missing Femicide Law: A National Blind Spot We Can No Longer Ignore

When Italy approved a life-sentence femicide law, it joined the list of 29 countries that have explicitly criminalised the gender-based killing of women. It did so on a symbolic day—the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women—a reminder that societies worldwide are finally acknowledging femicide as a distinct, systemic crime rooted in patriarchy.

Yet India, a country where violence against women continues to escalate and where the gender ratio remains dangerously skewed, still refuses to legally recognise femicide for what it is: the killing of women because they are women.

Global Momentum: Why the World Is Moving Ahead

The adoption of femicide laws is not new.

• Spain recognised gender-motivated killings as an aggravated offence way back in 1996.

• Mexico became the first to pass a standalone federal femicide law in 2012, with clear definitions, strict penalties, and accountability mechanisms for officials who obstruct justice.

• 18 Latin American nations have enacted femicide or feminicide legislation, making the region a global leader in recognising gender-based killings.

Worldwide, data shows the urgency:

• 51,100 women and girls were killed in 2023 by intimate partners or family members.

• Only 450 million women—about 11 out of every 100—live in countries legally protected by femicide laws.

This global shift underscores a simple truth: naming the crime is the first step toward preventing it.

India: A Country Still Reluctant to Name the Crime

India’s legal system—now restructured under the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS)—still treats the killing of women as generic homicide, ignoring the gendered motive behind these crimes.

The government claims the BNS strengthens provisions protecting women and children. Yet the reform fails to incorporate a gendered lens, overlooking the reality that women are disproportionately targeted due to toxic patriarchy, domestic violence, dowry disputes, and honour-based violence.

While India does have the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, anti-abortion laws, and various IPC/BNS sections dealing with murder or cruelty, these do not address femicide—neither as a definition nor as a standalone offence.

The absence is striking at a time when:

• NCRB recorded 4,28,278 cases of crimes against women in 2021, up from 3,71,503 in 2020.

• Delayed justice, harsh procedural hurdles, and poor conviction rates continue to weaken deterrence.

• Investigations into crimes against women remain slow, compromised, or traumatising for victims’ families.

A Nation with a Distorted Gender Ratio Cannot Afford Silence

India’s crisis begins even before birth.
The sex ratio at birth remains one of the most alarming indicators of entrenched gender bias.

• Haryana: 877 females per 1000 males

• Gujarat: districts showing dangerously low ratios —

  • Kutch: 908

  • Mehsana: 926

  • Rajkot: 927

  • Anand: 925

  • Gandhinagar: 923

• Female foeticide continues despite legal safeguards, aided by technology, societal pressure, and lax enforcement.

These figures reflect how deeply son preference still governs social behaviour. When a country struggles to protect girls before birth, its failure to legally recognise femicide becomes even more glaring.

Why India Needs a Femicide Law—Now

A recent comparative research analysis demonstrated that countries such as Honduras and Nicaragua, where femicide laws were introduced, witnessed a decline in rising femicide rates. Clear definitions, robust penalties, and standardised data reporting made crimes visible—and reducible.

India urgently needs a similar pathway.
A femicide law would:

• Differentiate gender-based killings from other homicides

• Allow data collection and pattern identification

• Mandate gender-sensitive investigation protocols

• Ensure swifter justice and higher accountability

• Acknowledge patriarchal violence as a systemic issue

In a nation where women’s bodies are battlefields of social control, refusing to recognise femicide is refusing to recognise reality.

The Question India Must Confront

As the world moves forward—Italy most recently—India remains caught between outdated patriarchal norms and half-hearted legal reforms. Criminalising femicide is not merely a symbolic step. It is an overdue recognition that the killing of women is not random violence but a manifestation of deep-rooted misogyny.

If India continues without a dedicated femicide law, the gap between crime and justice will grow wider. Women will remain unprotected, uncounted, and unnamed in death.

A country that cannot protect its women cannot claim moral, legal, or social progress.