National Women's Day is a South African

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...

celebrated annually on 9 August. The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the

Union Buildings The Union Buildings ( af, Uniegebou) form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the northern end of ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

to petition against the country's

pass laws In South Africa, pass laws were a form of internal passport system designed to segregate the population, manage urbanization and allocate migrant labor. Also known as the natives' law, pass laws severely limited the movements of not only blac ...

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 Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...

, 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 ...

. 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 Helen Beatrice Joseph (''née'' Fennell) (8 April 1905 – 25 December 1992) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Born in Sussex, England, Helen graduated with a degree in English from the University of London in 1927 and then departe ...

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 do ...

in Kimberley ( Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009. The women left 14,000 petitions at the office doors of

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

J. G. Strijdom. 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 partn ...

, sexual harassment in the workplace, pornography, 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 wo ...

, and strives for much of the same freedoms and rights.

References

External links

National Women's Day
{{South Africa Holidays June observances Women's rights in South Africa Remembrance days South African culture Society of South Africa

1956 Women's March

Significance

See also

References

External links