Abstract
This paper draws upon my doctoral research into the experiences of women who have been sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Malaysia. I utilise this case-study as a lens through which to examine the relationship between women, crime and economic factors. From my data derived from 47 ‘elite’ interviews, as well as legal and media database searches (resulting in information on 146 cases), I argue that current feminist criminological theorising should be updated to incorporate the relationship between women’s crime and precarious work. As I show, precarity is gendered and disproportionately affects women from the global south. Overall, I find that many of the women who have been sentenced to death in Malaysia were engaged in precarious work and drug trafficking was a way to make ‘quick money’ to address economic insecurity. Clearly, capital punishment is incommensurate with the crime.
Highlights
On 10 October 2018, on World Day Against the Death Penalty, the United Nations (UN) called for the introduction of a gender-based approach towards the death penalty (Callamard 2018)
This article is based upon the findings of my doctoral research into the pathways to offending of women sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Malaysia
In all of my interviews, participants cited an economic reason for why women engage in drug trafficking that leads to the death penalty in Malaysia
Summary
On 10 October 2018, on World Day Against the Death Penalty, the United Nations (UN) called for the introduction of a gender-based approach towards the death penalty (Callamard 2018). More Than Her Crime: A Global Overview of Women Facing the Death Penalty, found that the population of approximately 500 women who face the death penalty worldwide are victims of gender-based discrimination and have faced, and continue to face, various forms of oppression (Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide 2018) Up until this point, very few references had been made to women facing capital punishment, and those few had focused upon women sentenced for homicide in the United States (US), arguing that women benefit from a gender bias at sentencing which has meant they are often spared the ultimate punishment (Streib 1990, 1992, 2002, 2005, 2006; Carroll 1996; Shapiro 2000; Shatz and Shatz 2012). In Malaysia, there are far fewer women on death row than men
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
