On Thursday, July 9, one of the toughest court trials in recent Macedonian history begins at the Basic Court in Kumanovo. 25-year-old Trajko B. from a village in Staro Nagoričane will stand trial for four murders and two attempted murders committed this year and last. All the victims were women - and that is precisely what makes the case the first in Macedonia with elements of femicide, a killing motivated by the victim's gender.

According to the indictment of the Kumanovo Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, the defendant is charged under Article 123 of the Criminal Code, which prescribes a prison sentence of at least 10 years or life imprisonment for the deliberate killing of multiple people. The case will be presented before the court by a public prosecutor from the Kumanovo prosecution.

Behind the cold legal terms lies a question that must not be lost in procedure: how could one man kill for months while the system reacted only after the victims had piled up? Femicide is nothing new in the Balkans - what is new is that it is finally getting a name in a Macedonian courtroom. Will the judiciary treat it with the weight it deserves, or will it remain yet another case that drags on for years?

The outcome of this trial determines more than the fate of one defendant. It is a test of whether institutions can protect those who most depend on their protection. The trial is only beginning, and Macedonia will be watching - not as a sensation, but as a measure of how seriously the state takes violence against women.