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The South African
3 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
Here's why South Africa celebrates National Women's Day
While South Africans are missing out on a day off work for National Women's Day this weekend, it's important to remember why the day is celebrated. The day is sadly 'lost' in terms of a day off work as it falls on a Saturday and it will just be a 'normal' weekend day. The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday , the Monday following it will also be a public holiday. However, for public holidays that fall on a Saturday , it's just a 'normal' weekend day. Of course, the fewer days off, the better for business in the country. The next public holiday which will result in a day off from work will be Wednesday, 24 September when Heritage Day – or Braai Day as it's become commonly known – will be celebrated. National Women's Day 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. The march was led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams. Other participants included Frances Baard, a statue of whom was unveiled by Northern Cape Premier Hazel Jenkins in Kimberley (Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009. 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. There are FIVE long weekends in 2025. Four have already passed with the fifth and final one scheduled to be four-day long weekend with Christmas and the Day of Goodwill (Boxing Day) falling on a Thursday and Friday, respectively. Diarise the following public holidays in 2025 and plan your vacations accordingly! Wednesday, 1 January: New Year's Day Friday, 21 March: Human Rights Day Friday, 18 April: Good FridayMonday, 21 April: Family Day Sunday, 27 April: Freedom Day
Mail & Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Misogyny is in a smirk, a meme or in violence
Graphic: John McCann Every year, when 9 August rolls around, we parade Women's Day like a trophy. We are reminded of 1956, when thousands, including Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophia Williams and Rahima Moosa, confronted the apartheid status quo of racial discrimination and female oppression. We are reminded to be awed by those women who challenged injustice, but not so inspired to become them. This Women's Day, we need to reflect on how the echoes of misogyny are reverberating around the world, with the rise of anti-feminist movements, the rolling back of women's rights, affecting us all. It appears the 'we' who hate women is growing and our socialised passivity allows the echo of misogyny to be deafening. Misogyny isn'talways overtly violent; we don't always call it hate, it's advice, it's a smirk, a shared meme. But the hate is there, unexpected, subtle and inherited. From the day women are born, they are socialised into being the other, being treated as defective, dirty and hysterical. Women in liberal constitutional democracies today are told to be grateful — we have rights, programmes, seats at the table. Yet research suggests that, although the inclusion of women in leadership positions has increased, they hold less institutional power than men. Women are disproportionately confined to people-centred roles, while men consolidate their power on golf courses, over whiskeys in cigar lounges, free to let loose, be 'politically incorrect', express their distaste for equality, feminism and women's rights movements. I had better clarify that it is not all men, before I am labelled as a problematic woman, a misandrist, just more fuel for the effigy of female hate that incels and men's rights activists love to burn. On the other hand, it is these same men who claim to be the ones marginalised. We are reminded that it could be worse — look at the women in Iran — as if formal equality cancels out inequalities in practice. So, we women remember our place — not to destabilise the system, to be grateful that we are in the room at all, quietly holding our breath so as not to exhale too loudly, disturbing the misogyny in the air out of fear we will be kicked out of the room altogether. As misogyny seeps into our pores, we women start to internalise our inferiority, as thinkers such as bell hooks, Roxane Gay, Luce Irigaray and Naomi Wolf have pressed on over the years. Religion, the handmaid of misogyny, socialised the previous generations. Traditions masquerading as cultural truths linger over society today. Misogynistic cultural truths became, and still are, the expectation: female suffering is graceful, female sexuality is shameful, men are natural-born leaders and women are completed by marriage. The familiar tropes extend to secular society: the martyr wife, the submissive daughter. All women who don't internalise these cultural truths are branded as 'other', are labelled deviant, dangerous and shameful. These problematic women are living cautionary tales used by others to warn their daughters of the dangers of being too loud, too wild, too free. Loud, wild and free women are good fantasies, good TV and good memes to send. The patriarchy allows us women to admire, to be inspired by the Miranda Priestlys, Olivia Popes, Annalise Keatings, June Osborne, Lindiwe Dikanas, Beth Harmons, as long as their empowered persona stays in our offices, books we write or on our mood boards which we never act on. We women are encouraged to be inspired to cosplay these characters at Halloween but not to become them. Emulation is threatening, disrupting business as usual. For that reason, people of all genders are socialised to be the patriarchy's antibodies, policing women, judging, criticising, trolling or excluding them, attacking anyone who is too loud, too different, neutralising the threats that challenge the patriarchal norm. Because we women are holding our breath so as not to disturb the misogynistic air, the presence of more women, women who are freer, wilder, louder than ourselves, makes us uneasy. That is the skill of the misogynist system; its internal mechanism has taught us how to divide ourselves. White women troll black women, cis women judge trans women. It works so well that not only is it so easy to hate women, but the default is for us women to hate ourselves. The cultural pushback of women's rights globally (such as the overturning of Roe vs Wade, the rise of anti-feminist movements) and the drive to push 'traditional values' is the latest swing of the pendulum of patriarchy. From the tradwife making homemade jam to the day-in-the-life-of-a-stay-at-home-girlfriend reel, the soft girl aesthetic, embracing passive femininity, to the cottagecore wife and her domestic rituals. These whitewashed heteronormative aesthetics create an online space for misogyny to thrive. Online spaces where little girls and women are moulded to dream of submission and exhausted girl bosses toy with the daydream of trading in their laptop for a sourdough starter. We are free only to exercise a curated femininity; we get to decide what kind of cookie-cutter female tropes we wish to embody — the Karen, the Pick-Me Girl, the Girl Boss or the Slay Queen. As we remember our women struggle heroes this year, let their resistance inspire us to find new ways to resist social injustice. Paige Benton is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, based at the African Centre for Epistemology and Philosophy of Science.
The South African
7 days ago
- General
- The South African
National Women's Day: Do South Africans get a day off?
South Africa will celebrate National Women's Day this weekend, but does this public holiday grant a day off for workers? Well, since the 9th of August falls on a Saturday this year, it seems South Africans are out of luck. According to the Public Holidays Act (Act No. 36 of 1994), when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes a day off. However, if the holiday falls on a Saturday, it is treated as part of the regular weekend. Despite this bad luck, National Women's Day is still a significantly important holiday in South Africa. Observed annually on 9 August, commemorates the 1956 march of over 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. These women, led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, stood united against the apartheid government's pass laws – a defining moment in South Africa's struggle for equality and women's rights. The day is not only symbolic of the sacrifices made but also serves as a time to reflect on the progress achieved and the challenges that remain in the fight for gender equality. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
05-08-2025
- General
- The South African
SA's upcoming public holiday falls flat for workers this week
South Africa is gearing up to celebrate National Women's Day this week, but there's a catch that has many people disappointed. This year, the important public holiday falls on a Saturday, meaning South Africans do not get a day off. This is according to the Public Holidays Act (Act No. 36 of 1994), which states that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it will also be a public holiday. However, for public holidays that fall on a Saturday, it's just a 'normal' weekend day. National Women's Day, celebrated on 9 August every year, is one of the country's most significant public holidays. It commemorates the historic 1956 march where over 20 000 women of all races marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the apartheid government's pass laws. The march, led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, is remembered as a defining moment in the fight for equality and women's rights in South Africa. The holiday is not just symbolic – it also serves as a day to reflect on the progress made towards gender equality and the challenges that remain. However, because National Women's Day lands on a Saturday this year, South Africans working a standard Monday-to-Friday week won't get an extra day off. That means many people who were hoping for a long weekend will have to settle for a normal one! Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
02-07-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Water interruptions affect major Gauteng hospitals
Several Gauteng health facilities are impacted by Rand Water maintenance, but services continue with a backup supply The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has confirmed that several health facilities in the province are experiencing water supply interruptions following a public notice from Rand Water regarding planned infrastructure maintenance. Maintenance began on 30 June and is expected to continue until 21 July. It is said to affect the Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes and Palmiet pumping stations. Contingency plans in place In response, the department said it is working with municipalities to mitigate the impact on healthcare services. 'The department is working closely with the municipality to implement contingency measures to minimise the impact on health services,' said the GDoH in a statement. 'Most health facilities are equipped with water tanks, boreholes and reservoirs that can provide water for a duration of two to four days.' ALSO READ: Gauteng health urges parents to take children for immunisation Helen Joseph and Charlotte Maxeke hospitals affected Gauteng Health further highlighted that Helen Joseph Hospital is currently experiencing water supply interruptions, which are also affecting surrounding communities. 'Johannesburg Water tankers have been dispatched to pump water into the hospital tanks to ensure continuity of services,' the department stated. Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is also affected by the Zwartkopjes water system outage. Pumping to the Parktown 2 Reservoir, which supplies the hospital, was halted for 50 hours from Monday morning. Despite this, the hospital continues to receive water through gravity feed from the reservoir, while tanks are being topped up as needed. ALSO READ: Gauteng Health's warning for parents Community clinics relying on Jojo tanks The Alexandra Community Health Centre and Hillbrow Community Health Centre are also experiencing supply issues and are currently dependent on Jojo tanks for their water needs. The GDoH said it remains on high alert and is monitoring the situation across all affected facilities. 'We will provide regular updates regarding any developments that may affect the provision of health services in any of our facilities,' it said. Residents are urged to conserve water where possible and remain patient as services are maintained during the ongoing maintenance period. NOW READ: 'Remedial work at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital on track,' says Gauteng Health
