VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN | AFRICA | ADVOCACY & POLICY | CULTURE
Women in Protest in South Africa – A Feminist Struggle Continually Dominated by Women
WORDS BY ELIZABETH SYKES | E.SYKES@THEIWI.ORG | 21 SEPTEMBER 2024
Governmental backslide on steps toward gender equality in South Africa represent the ultimately limited scope of progress to the confines of the ANC. Pervasive gender-based violence (GBV) across the country further indicates that despite the constitution, South African men face no obligation to ‘be feminists’. On the other hand, existence as a woman in a country with one of the highest rates of GBV in the world (African Health Organisation, 2020), means black women in South Africa have little choice but to be feminists. Where constitutional rights have fallen short, women continue to champion their cause under an enduring situation of profound inequality.
Women in protest: A brief history
As previously highlighted, the women’s movement in South Africa made significant contributions to the creation of the new Republic, independent of the previous, racist regime. This constitutional and legislative influence stems from feminist activism. On the 9th of August 1956, 20,000 women marched on the Union Buildings in South Africa’s administrative capital, Pretoria. Protesting the extension of segregation legislation which would require women to carry passes whilst in designated ‘white’ urban areas, the Federation of South African Women delivered thousands of petitions to the doorstep of the then prime minister JG Strijdom. Presented by Rahima Moosa, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Sophie Williams de Bruyn, the petition opened with the following declaration:
“We are women of every race, we come from the cities and the towns, from the reserves and the villages. We come as women united in our purpose to save the African women from the degradation of the passes.” (State of the Nation, 2022).
Before leaving, and without reception from the prime minister or any senior officials, the women stood in silence for half an hour, subsequently singing what would become the South African national anthem, Nkosi sikeleli Afrika.
Commemorating the events of 1956, Women’s Month is now celebrated annually in South Africa over the month of August. Yet, GBV does not stop in South Africa for the month of August. In 2019, the month purporting to celebrate women witnessed the highest number of violent crimes committed against women in the country’s history (The Guardian, 2019). The murder of more than thirty women by spouses in the previous month catalysed national protest in September 2019. These events culminated in the organisation of a national shutdown which aimed to prompt the declaration of a national emergency. Whilst this was successful, GBV endures in South Africa. Women’s protest, influential over government, has yet to enforce a change in attitude amongst South African men. Much like legislature, the work to overcome systemic violence seems far from complete in South Africa.
The legacy of Women’s Protest
Addressing the nation at the beginning of women’s month over the past five years, President Ramaphosa has recalled the achievements of the 1956 March and of contemporary feminist activists. His addresses have, however, also underlined on several occasions the violence continually faced by women across the country. In speeches which emphasise the link between national liberation and women’s liberation, Ramphosa recognises the power wielded by women’s protest. He also understands the duty of male citizens in the struggle for gender equality.
Calling upon men ‘to be part of the solution, starting with their own attitudes and conduct’ (State of the Nation, 2022), Ramaphosa echoed statements made by Lötter in 2000, underlining the constitutional duty of men to support the feminist cause. Significantly, in his 2022 address Ramaphosa quickly moves past the call for men to work against GBV, highlighting that ‘we should not diminish the progress we have made in building a non-sexist society.’ Leading a nation and a party which has consistently sought to illuminate its historic relationship with the South African women’s movement presents difficulty for policy-makers in South Africa. Whilst, as previously highlighted, legislation exists in South Africa to protect women’s rights, pervasive violence continues to undermine the efficacy of government measures against deep-rooted society-wide misogyny. Failure to achieve gender equality ideologically central to the party and the nation, necessitates women’s activism and indicates the centrality of women to ANC identity and purpose. Ramaphosa thus toes a line, attempting to at once call out the violence committed against women and to illuminate the centrality of the ANC and government in bettering the lives of women since independence.
Last month, celebrations were organised in celebration of “30 years of democracy towards Women’s Development” (Government Communications and Information System RSA2024), indicating the extent to which women’s liberation is entangled with national and ANC party identity post-Apartheid. Linking this history to the progress made by the government thirty years post-liberation, President Ramphosa recently underlined the steps taken by the South African government to support women’s ‘economic freedom’. He ends his address declaring that the ‘achievement of economic freedom for South Africa’s women would be the most fitting tribute to the courageous women who marched on the Unions Buildings in 1956.’ (State of the Nation, 2024). Perhaps the most fitting tribute to the protesters of 1956 would be women’s total liberation from all forms of oppression; a task for which it seems protest remains necessary.
Women’s Protest in the National Narrative
The annual celebration of Women’s Month in South Africa, a commemorative event of the protest led by 20,000 women in 1956, illustrates how feminist protest has shaped and been shaped by national identity and part narratives. Into the 21st century, women challenge the government over the ongoing prevalence of GBV, holding the state accountable for failure to deliver on the promises of equality of the South African Revolution and Constitution.