Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo: Reigniting the spirit of resistance
Image: AFP
Dr. Reneva Fourie
In 1956, women were at the forefront of confronting deep-rooted injustices. Today, their legacy is visible, yet women's voices are increasingly diluted. The brave spirit that inspired nearly 20,000 women to march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 9 August of that year appears to be a distant memory.
The march remains one of the most courageous acts of resistance in South Africa's history. It was not only a bold rejection of the extension of pass laws that criminalised Black men and sought to do the same to women. It was a direct challenge to the core of racial, gender and economic oppression.
Nearly seventy years later, much of that radical spirit has been softened. While National Women's Day is widely commemorated, its original intent is often lost. Many of the spaces that once existed to elevate women have become watered down or tokenistic.
Representation in Parliament and the Cabinet is commendable, but it falls short in a system that remains patriarchal and often unaccountable. Having women in leadership is not sufficient if they are not supported to act with boldness and autonomy. A seat at the table is meaningless if the table itself is designed to exclude, silence and contain.
Too often, the very institutions that claim to support women are riddled with patriarchal dynamics. Women's leadership is still questioned. Safety in political spaces remains uncertain. The voices of working-class and rural women are often overlooked in policy debates.
While not all women are silent, there is a clear and disturbing trend of suppression. Worse still is the way some women are pressured into silencing themselves. The progressive women's movement, once a powerful force for mobilisation and justice, is increasingly relegated to symbolic gestures at formal events or used as voting fodder at party conferences. The pressure to remain aligned with party structures and internal factional interests often stifles independent anti-patriarchal thought.
It is no small indictment that, three decades into democracy, South Africa has yet to elect a woman president. This is not just a matter of symbolism. It reflects a deeper resistance within the corridors of power to embrace gender equity fully. Now, more than ever, we need to transform the table. We must reject a system where women are present but powerless.
Furthermore, National Women's Day is increasingly framed as a day of appreciation rather than resistance. Commercial narratives celebrate women's strength and resilience while downplaying questions about why so many women remain poor, unsafe and unheard. The urgency of gender struggles has been stripped away and replaced with platitudes.
National Women's Day is celebrated annually on August 9 to commemorate the 1956 march of 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest the apartheid regime's pass laws .
Image: Independent Media Archives
The Constitution promises equality, but that promise remains unfulfilled for too many. Many women, particularly Black, working-class and rural women, continue to face some of the harshest realities in the country. High levels of unemployment, persistent food insecurity, gender-based violence, limited access to land and housing, and failing public services define daily life for millions. Despite the promises of democracy, most women still struggle to access the opportunities they were supposed to have won in 1994.
This persistent inequality cannot be separated from the general economic policies implemented in post-apartheid South Africa. Neoliberal approaches that prioritise markets, privatisation and austerity have failed to deliver justice. While a small elite has benefited, most people, especially women, remain on the margins.
When state budgets are slashed and services are outsourced, it is often women who bear the brunt of the consequences. They are overrepresented in precarious and informal work and are expected to plug the gaps left by the state as unpaid caregivers and community safety workers. Their emotional labour is endless and unrecognised.
Yet amid these injustices, women across the world are rising. A growing global wave of feminist organising is reshaping what resistance looks like. Women are at the centre of movements for climate justice, economic fairness and democratic renewal. Across the African continent and throughout the Global South, women activists are linking gender justice with broader social struggles. Their work insists that justice must be holistic and rooted in economic transformation, accountability and a rejection of oppressive systems.
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