Voices from women led organisations taking the fight against femicide to the streets

When women led organisations gathered in Bamenda on Friday, 4 September 2026, for the launch of the Stop Femicide campaign, their message was not limited to mourning women who had already lost their lives.

They wanted to ask a more difficult question: what could have been done before the killing?

That question runs through the interventions of the organisations that took part in the march, many of which work directly with women, girls and survivors of gender based violence.

For AP-WORP, participation was a statement of solidarity with women whose lives had been violently taken and with the families left behind.

Florence Munteh said the organisation's involvement went beyond attending another public event.

"For me and AP-WORP, participating in the march was not just about being present at another public event. It was about standing in solidarity with the women and girls whose lives have been violently taken away, and with the families and communities left behind to carry that pain," she said.

The organisation's experience working with women and survivors, she explained, means that the consequences of violence are seen long before they reach the headlines.

"We cannot continue to wait until a woman is killed before we express outrage," Munteh said.

Her argument shifts the conversation from reaction to prevention. Communities, she said, must pay attention to warning signs, while institutions must respond quickly enough when women are at risk.

AP-WORP also challenged the tendency to blame women for violence committed against them.

"We must stop normalising violence against women. We must stop finding ways to blame women for the violence committed against them and instead focus on prevention, protection, accountability and justice," Munteh said.

Her most direct message was perhaps the simplest:

"A woman should not have to die for us to take her safety seriously."

For Hope Alive Association Cameroon, the concern extends to both women and men.

Laison Sylvie, the organisation's Executive Director, said gender based violence is already part of its programme because women and girls are among its principal target populations.

"Anything that affects women and girls affects us and is our concern," she said.

Sylvie also placed the Bamenda march within a wider campaign by women led organisations. She said organisations had earlier joined a declaration at the Palais des Congrès in Yaoundé and expected government action.

With little visible feedback, she said, returning to the streets became another way of amplifying the demand.

"We were just amplifying our voices to say that something really needs to be done, and it needs to be done fast, so that we don't lose more lives for whatever reason," she said.

But Sylvie also raised an issue that complicates public discussions around gender based violence: the killing of men.

She said reports of men being killed by women have fuelled controversy over whether civil society organisations focus disproportionately on female victims.

Her response was that gender based violence should not be reduced to one sex.

"When we talk GBV, it's not just about women, but it's about women and men," she said.

For Sylvie, however, recognising male victims does not weaken the campaign against femicide. Rather, it reinforces the broader principle that killing cannot be justified.

"No matter what someone does, there is always an option to move out," she said, arguing that abusive relationships should not become fatal and that separation can provide a safety option.

CAEPA brought another dimension to the campaign.

Fenwi Linda said the organisation's motivation came from its work to improve the lives of women and girls and help them live with dignity within their communities.

"Women are builders and communities suffer when they are harmed," she said.

The statement goes beyond the immediate loss of life. It points to the wider social cost of violence against women, particularly in communities already facing significant social and economic pressures.

CAEPA's appeal was directed at both women and institutions.

Women, Linda said, should not die in silence, while authorities and lawmakers must take practical measures capable of punishing perpetrators.

Communities, she added, should remain vigilant, support victims and help authorities identify perpetrators.

CAGEAD approached the issue from the perspective of human rights and equality.

Its CEO, Clotilda Andiensa, said the organisation's motivation was rooted in its work on sexual and reproductive health and rights, GBV prevention and response, women's leadership and peacebuilding.

"The repeated cases of femicide in Cameroon are a painful reminder that violence against women is not only a private or family matter, but a serious human rights and public concern that requires collective action," she said.

CAGEAD's demand is for systems that intervene before violence becomes fatal, including stronger prevention mechanisms, survivor centred responses and accountability for perpetrators.

"Women’s lives matter, and femicide must stop," Andiensa said.

CAMNAFAW brought the perspective of an organisation whose work is closely linked to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Regional Coordinator Mme EKOUME NDEMA Irene said the recent killings of women by their partners had created an urgent need for public attention and action.

"For the past two weeks, a very disturbing number of women killed by their partners has been recorded and this calls for attention and is a call for action," she said.

For CAMNAFAW, the march had several purposes: to sensitise the public, break the silence, encourage women and girls not to remain silent in situations of violence and mourn those already killed.

Its message was deliberately direct.

"There is no justification to femicide. Every life matters and should not be wasted," Irene said.

She also stressed dialogue as an alternative to fatal violence.

"Femicide is not a solution to the problem, dialogue is much more better. Break the silence and end every form of violence," she said.

Across the four organisations, there is a striking convergence.

They differ in their areas of work and emphasis, but their central demands are remarkably similar: violence must be identified earlier, victims must have somewhere to turn, institutions must respond faster and perpetrators must face consequences.

That convergence is important because femicide rarely begins with the killing itself. In many cases, it can be preceded by threats, intimidation, physical abuse, coercive control, sexual violence or repeated domestic conflict.

The challenge, therefore, is whether communities and institutions can intervene before the final act.

The coalition's memorandum to government, read by Awondo Judith, Coordinator of WA Cameroon, attempted to translate that concern into institutional demands. It called for stronger prevention, reporting, protection, investigation and justice mechanisms and urged communities not to conceal violence for the sake of family reputation.

The organisations also placed responsibility on ordinary citizens.

Neighbours should not ignore repeated cries for help. Families should not protect an abusive relative at the expense of a victim. Traditional and religious leaders should not treat serious violence as a matter to be settled quietly when someone's safety is at risk.