The theme of this issue is Transition. What drew you to the moment or experience at the heart of your piece, and how does it speak to lives in a world in transition?

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I was drawn to the moments when violence against Nigerian women becomes death, and society shifts from witnessing abuse to blaming victims. The stories are grounded in real stories of Nigerian women I knew or cases I encountered through my investigations, including the widely discussed 2022 case of Nigerian gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu. The piece asks what must change in how families, communities, religious institutions and state actors respond before another woman becomes a burial story. 
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What inspired you to write this piece, and what do you hope readers will take from it?

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​My investigations into femicide in Nigeria showed me how difficult it was to capture women’s deaths through reported numbers alone. This work also informed my article, ‘The Harvester's Garden: Females as body parts in Nigeria’, where I examined real cases and argued that femicide extends beyond the person who directly kills a woman. I hope readers consider how our responses to violence, including silence, victim blaming, institutional failures and protection of perpetrators, can contribute to the conditions surrounding women’s deaths. 
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How did you arrive at the tone of your piece, and what role does it play in conveying its central concerns?

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I chose an accusatory and mournful tone to confront how easily responsibility shifts from perpetrators and institutions to women. The repeated movement from violence to burial and victim-blaming shows how different circumstances can produce painfully similar responses. The tone also makes the collective ‘We’ uncomfortable, hopefully forcing Nigerian society to consider its own role in sustaining these responses.​​

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What felt most important to bear witness to through your story?

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​​I wanted to bear witness to women’s deaths and everything surrounding those deaths. Abuse, family expectations, religious responses, victim blaming, institutional failures and public reactions can become part of the story long before and after a woman dies. The repeated ‘We’ deliberately places society inside that process rather than allowing us to observe it from a comfortable distance. 
 

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Do you think your story speaks to the possibility of an otherwise, and if so, how?

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Yes. The ‘otherwise’ I imagine is a society where people recognise violence before a woman’s death becomes another ‘Gone Too Soon’ banner. It requires families, communities, religious leaders, healthcare workers, law enforcement and other institutions to protect women rather than blame them for the violence they experience.