For eight women in Cameroon, the past week have ended in violence, bloodshed and, for their families, unanswered questions. In less than ten days, eight cases involving women killed in violent or suspicious circumstances have been reported across the country, from Yaoundé and Douala to Belabo and the Adamawa Region. The cases have shocked the public and renewed calls for Cameroon to confront what increasingly appears to be a national femicide crisis.

Among the victims was 19-year-old Diane Yidi Ebabi, who was reportedly strangled by her boyfriend in Efoulan, Yaoundé, following a dispute. Her body was allegedly kept in his room for two days before being buried in a pit. In Douala, 34-year-old Modestine, a mother of two, was reportedly stabbed to death by her husband inside their home while their children were present.

In Tsinga, Yaoundé, another mother of three was reportedly killed and decapitated, with her body hidden beneath a bed. Her partner allegedly fled with their children before he was arrested. In the Adamawa Region, 38-year-old trader Rougaïatou Saidou disappeared before her body was later discovered buried near an abandoned house. A suspected companion reportedly confessed to the killing.

Other cases have been equally disturbing. Kenfack Fortune died after reportedly being thrown from a moving vehicle on the Yaoundé–Nsimalen highway. In Mefou-et-Afamba, a young woman was found dead on a road in circumstances investigators believe may have been staged to resemble a traffic accident. In Belabo, a woman was reportedly raped and killed. And in Yaoundé, 44-year-old Beguel Crescence Merline was found stabbed to death in a hotel room. Several of these investigations remain ongoing.

The killings come against statistics that make the latest cases even more alarming. In June, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa told Parliament that Cameroon had officially recorded 50 femicide cases between January and April 2026, alongside 166 rape cases. She warned that the official figures were only the “tip of the iceberg”, citing fear, family pressure and stigma as reasons many cases go unreported.

The government says it is preparing a standalone law addressing gender-based violence and has identified informal settlements of serious domestic abuse and delays within the justice system as major obstacles. But Human Rights Watch says the government must move beyond promises, calling for more shelters, protection mechanisms and effective prosecution of perpetrators.

The question now confronting Cameroon is painfully simple: how many women must die before violence against women is treated not as a private family matter, but as a national emergency?