National Women's Day ( zu, Usuku Lwabesifazane, af, Nasionale Vrouedag) is a South African
public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August. The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the
Union Buildings in
Pretoria to petition against the country's
pass laws that required South Africans defined as "black" under
The Population Registration Act to carry an internal passport, known as a passbook, that served to maintain population segregation, control
urbanisation, and manage migrant labour during the
apartheid era
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. The first National Women's Day was celebrated on 9 August 1995. In 2006, a reenactment of the march was staged for its 50th anniversary, with many of the 1956 march veterans.
1956 Women's March
On 9 August 1956, more than 20,000 South African women of all races staged a march on the Union Buildings in protest against the proposed amendments to the
Urban Areas Act of 1950, commonly referred to as the "pass laws". The march was led by
Lillian Ngoyi,
Helen Joseph,
Rahima Moosa
Rahima Moosa (13 October 1922 - 29 May 1993) was a member of the Transvaal Indian Congress and later the African National Congress. She is well known for the role she played in the national uprising of women on 9 August 1956. Moosa was also a sh ...
and
Sophia Williams. Other participants included
Frances Baard, a statue of whom was unveiled by Northern Cape Premier
Hazel Jenkins
Hazel Gertrude Jenkins is a South African politician and former Premier of the Northern Cape province. She served as Premier from May 2009 until she officially stood down in April 2013, following a stroke. The motion to recognise her stepping ...
in
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
(
Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009. The women left 14,000 petitions at the office doors of
prime minister J. G. Strijdom
Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (also spelled Strydom in accordance with Afrikaans spelling; 14 July 1893 – 24 August 1958), also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was the fifth prime minister of ...
.
The women stood silently for 30 minutes and then started singing a protest song that was composed in honour of the occasion: ''Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo!'' (''Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.''). In the years since, the phrase (or its latest incarnation: "you strike a woman, you strike a rock") has come to represent women's courage and strength in South Africa.
Significance
National Women's Day draws attention to significant issues African women still face, such as parenting,
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
, sexual harassment in the workplace, unequal pay, and schooling for all girls. It can be used as a day to fight for or protest these ideas. Due to this public holiday, there have been many significant advances. Before 1994, women had low representation in the Parliament, only at 2.7%. Women in the national assembly were at 27.7%. This number has nearly doubled, being at 48% representation throughout the country's government.
National Women's Day is based around much of the same principles as
International Women's Day
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
, and strives for much of the same freedoms and rights.
See also
*
International Women's Day
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
*
Public holidays in South Africa
References
External links
National Women's Day
{{South Africa Holidays
June observances
Women's rights in South Africa
Remembrance days
Culture of South Africa
Society of South Africa
Public holidays in South Africa