Why Society Reacts Differently To Murder Based On Gender
The Ketan Agarwal murder case in Pune has focused attention on the way society reacts when a woman is accused of a crime as against when the same offence is allegedly committed by a man
The arrest or conviction of a woman for murder almost always generates a level of fascination that goes far beyond the crime itself. Television debates, social media commentary and sensational headlines frequently portray such cases as extraordinary, shocking or unnatural. A woman accused of murder is often described as “cold-blooded”, “heartless”, “monster”, or “femme fatale” in ways that male perpetrators rarely are. The crime becomes inseparable from her gender.
This contrast raises an important question: Why does society react so differently when a woman commits murder compared to when a man commits the same offence?
The answer lies not only in crime statistics but also in deeply embedded social expectations. Across cultures—and particularly in India—women are traditionally associated with caregiving, nurturing and emotional restraint. Men, by contrast, have historically been socialised into ideas of dominance, aggression and control. When violence is committed by men, it is often viewed as tragic but unsurprising. When committed by women, it is treated as a violation of both the law and gender norms.
The numbers themselves tell a revealing story. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the overwhelming majority of murder accused in India are men. Similarly, violent crimes including rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, honour killings and acid attacks are overwhelmingly committed by male offenders. In contrast, women account for only a small fraction of those arrested for homicide.
Crimes against women remain widespread in India. NCRB data consistently records more than four lakh cases of crimes against women annually. These include domestic violence, dowry deaths, rape, kidnapping, stalking, acid attacks and sexual harassment. Nearly all of these offences are committed by men, often by individuals known to the victim.
For many women, violence is not an isolated incident but a lived reality. Surveys have repeatedly shown that women experience harassment in public spaces, discrimination in workplaces, unequal opportunities, online abuse and restrictions on mobility. Patriarchal attitudes continue to influence decisions about education, marriage, inheritance, employment and reproductive rights.
Against this backdrop, the rare instance of a woman committing murder becomes highly visible because it disrupts the stereotype of women as passive victims.
Gender stereotypes shape public perception
Society has long divided human behaviour into “masculine” and “feminine” categories. Men are expected to be assertive, physically strong and emotionally detached. Women are expected to be compassionate, patient and self-sacrificing.
These stereotypes influence how criminal behaviour is interpreted.
When a man commits murder, the discussion often focuses on motive, evidence and punishment. His gender rarely becomes the central story. When a woman commits murder, however, public conversations frequently ask broader questions: What kind of woman could do this? Was she mentally unstable? Was she immoral? Was she a bad mother, wife or daughter?
In other words, society often judges female offenders not only as criminals but also as women who failed to fulfil expected gender roles.
Media coverage reinforces these perceptions. Female suspects are more likely to have their appearance, clothing, relationships and family life scrutinised. Headlines often describe them as “evil wife”, “black widow”, “jealous lover” or “killer mother”. Male offenders, meanwhile, are less frequently defined by their roles as husbands or fathers.
This double standard reflects what sociologists describe as gendered criminality—the tendency to evaluate crimes differently depending on the offender’s gender.
India’s broader social environment also plays a role. Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, patriarchal norms remain deeply rooted. Women continue to face unequal pay, lower workforce participation, limited political representation and disproportionate responsibility for unpaid domestic work. Misogyny manifests itself in everyday interactions—from victim-blaming after sexual assaults to questioning women’s clothing, behaviour or choices.
Toxic masculinity further reinforces harmful expectations that equate manhood with dominance, control and aggression. Boys are often discouraged from expressing vulnerability while being encouraged to prove strength through authority. These cultural norms contribute to high levels of gender-based violence.
Ironically, because male violence has become so common, it often attracts less psychological shock than female violence.
Understanding female violence without abandoning accountability
Recognising these double standards does not mean excusing women who commit murder. Every homicide deserves impartial investigation and fair prosecution regardless of the offender’s gender.
However, criminological research suggests that women and men often arrive at violent crime through different pathways.
Many women convicted of homicide have documented histories of domestic abuse, intimate partner violence or prolonged coercive control. Some cases involve women killing abusive spouses after years of violence. Others relate to property disputes, family conflicts or financial motives similar to those involving male offenders.
This does not justify murder, but it highlights the importance of understanding context rather than relying on stereotypes.
At the same time, it would be equally misleading to romanticise female offenders as inherently less dangerous. Women, like men, possess the capacity for violence, manipulation and criminal behaviour. Equality before the law requires equal accountability.
The challenge lies in separating legal responsibility from cultural expectations.
Modern societies increasingly recognise that neither men nor women should be imprisoned by rigid gender roles. Men are capable of empathy and caregiving, just as women are capable of ambition, anger and—even in rare cases—extreme violence.
Yet public reactions continue to reveal how strongly traditional expectations endure. A male murderer is often viewed simply as a criminal. A female murderer is frequently seen as something more disturbing: someone who has violated society’s deeply held beliefs about femininity itself.
The larger lesson is not that women should be judged more leniently or men more harshly. Rather, both should be judged by the same legal standards while recognising the social conditions that shape violence.
India’s continuing struggle against misogyny, gender inequality and patriarchal norms demands sustained attention because these factors contribute to the far more widespread violence that women experience every day. When society reserves its greatest outrage for the comparatively rare woman who kills, while becoming desensitised to the routine violence committed against women, it reveals an imbalance in collective priorities.
Justice requires consistency. Murder is a grave crime regardless of who commits it. But understanding why society reacts differently exposes deeper truths about gender, power and the expectations that continue to define women and men in contemporary India.
