Women’s Month is celebrated every year in August in South Africa to pay tribute to the more than 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The Government of South Africa declared August Women’s Month and 9 August is celebrated annually as Women’s Day.
On the 9th August 1956 a staged march was held on the Union Buildings of Pretoria with an attendance of over 20,000 women. The peaceful protest was held to address the Urban Areas Act of 1950 amendments which instructed that all “black” South Africans had to carry a identity internal passport which controlled all of their physical movements.
The protest was led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophia Williams. The women left 14,000 petitions at the office doors of the prime minister, 100,000 signatures were left outside the prime minister’s door as well as a thirty-minute silent protest. After the silent protest, songs were sung to honor the event, to make sure their voices were heard. The song they sang was composed specifically for the event, titled “Wathint’Abafazi Wathint’imbokodo” which translates to “Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.”Each year since the official declaration in 1995, this month is commemorated with a distinctive theme to honor the perceptual struggles plaguing women in this country.
The protest was led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophia Williams and Rahima Moosa. “the women left 14,000 petitions at the office doors of the prime minister. 100,000 signatures were left outside the prime minister’s door as well as a thirty-minute silent protest. After the silent protest, songs were sung to honor the event, to make sure their voices were heard.” – NationalToday.com
The theme for 2023 Women’s Month, Resilient, patient, loving, and strong — women run the world and get their own day on National Women’s Day in South Africa on August 9. This year’s Women’s Month is a call to action to all of society, government and partners to take tangible steps forward in responding to the most persistent challenges affecting the lives of women and girls.
The National Women’s Month programme is based on ongoing interventions across the work of government, civil society and the private sector within the context of national priorities outlined by government.
Women’s Month allows us to gauge how far we have come in transforming society, particularly the transformation of unequal power relations between women and men.
The focus is on addressing gender oppression, patriarchy, sexism, racism, ageism, and structural oppression, and creating a conducive environment which enables women to take control of their lives.