Mauritanian civil society has reacted strongly to the alleged rape and murder of a young woman, calling on the State "to take responsibility" for the protection of its female citizens after several femicides in recent years.

The lifeless body of Fatimata Hamady Ba was found by a police patrol on the night of April 18-19 in a suburb of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. The news, shared on social media, has sparked strong reactions in recent days in Mauritania, an Islamic Republic and conservative country where a contentious debate has been taking place for several years on the issue of violence against women and gender equality.

The circumstances surrounding the young woman's death are still unclear, and the investigation is ongoing. An anonymous source within the judicial police told AFP that "the young woman was neither raped nor murdered." "She died of an overdose after taking drugs in the apartment of the main suspect in this case," the source stated.

This event, however, reignited the debate on the issue of femicide. "It is with profound indignation and legitimate anger that AMPEF learned of the brutal murder of Fatimata Hamady Ba, who was raped and killed," the Mauritanian Association for the Promotion of Girls' Education (AMPEF) condemned in a statement. "This heinous crime (...) is part of an unacceptable series of acts of violence against women in Mauritania," the association emphasized.

Human rights activist Elkory Sneiba told AFP that "it is time for the state to take responsibility for stemming this wave of insecurity." MP Khali Diallo said he was "deeply moved by this gruesome news of the murder and rape of this young woman, which brings to mind other similar cases recorded in recent years." He added, "This situation is all the more regrettable given that a law put forward by civil society criminalizing violence against women is languishing in Parliament."

For over three years, the so-called "Karama" (Dignity) law on gender equality has been stalled in the National Assembly. According to its critics, it contains provisions contrary to Islamic law, the country's primary source of law. In 2020, Kadiata Sow, in her thirties, was found murdered after being raped near Tiguent, south of the capital. Between 2013 and 2017, several women and girls aged six, ten, and fifteen were raped and killed in Mauritania; some were burned alive, mutilated, or hanged.