In a country where women are killed and sexually violated every day, women, alongside the LGBTQI+ community, will stand united on Friday in a historic shutdown against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
They are demanding the scourge to be declared a national disaster.
The statistics are stark and harrowing and women have been saying that the response from the government is inadequate.
While the country is hosting the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday and Sunday, the Women for Change organisation has called on women to rally behind the G20 Women’s Shutdown initiative.
At the time of publication on Monday, more than 1.75-million had signed the petition calling for the government to declare GBVF a national disaster.
Wearing black and purple, hundreds of women are expected to participate in the shutdown, with participants in East London expected to gather at the City Hall, ending up at the Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels Recreational Park at the beachfront.
Jegels, after whom the park was named, was a boxing and karate champion who was shot and killed by her police officer boyfriend in East London during Women’s Month in 2019.
Women for Change said the GBVF crisis demanded the “immediate mobilisation of national resources and unwavering political commitment on an unprecedented scale to strengthen and transform the national response to the epidemic of violence against women and children”.
We are part of a broader movement demanding that leaders, including those convening at the G20, prioritise the safety, dignity and freedom of women and children.
— Asonele Melaphi of the Nokwanda Patocka GBV Foundation
On April 11 2025, the organisation handed over a petition with more than 150,000 signatures and a memorandum to women, children and people with disabilities deputy minister Mmapaseka Steve Letsike.
It said “women will silence the nation” on Friday.
“We call on all women and members of the LGBTQI+ community across SA to refrain from all paid and unpaid work in workplaces, universities and homes, and to spend no money for the entire day to demonstrate the economic and social impact of their absence.
“Because until SA stops burying a woman every 2.5 hours, the G20 cannot speak of growth and progress.
“We demand that gender-based violence and femicide be declared a national disaster. Not tomorrow. Not at another summit. Now,” the organisation said.
Women for Change said on Friday that participants could contribute by:
- Not working — No paid or unpaid labour;
- Not spending money and withdrawing from the economy for one day;
- Joining the 15-minute standstill by lying down for 15 minutes at noon to honour the 15 women murdered every day and bringing SA to a complete standstill;
- Wearing black to stand in mourning and resistance;
- Changing your profile picture to purple to make the shutdown visible online; and
- Sharing. Talk about it, share posters using #WomenShutdown.
Eastern Cape GBV activists have lauded the initiative.
“We stand firmly behind the G20 Women’s Shutdown,” Asonele Melaphi of the Nokwanda Patocka GBV Foundation said.
“This moment is bigger than a campaign, it is a national call for visibility, accountability and urgent action in a country where women continue to live under the shadow of violence every single day.”
She said the shutdown spoke to the mission of confronting GBV “head-on, to support survivors, and to drive community awareness and systemic change”.
Melaphi said the shutdown strengthened the collective struggle and showed that anti-GBV organisations were not working in isolation.
“We are part of a broader movement demanding that leaders, including those convening at the G20, prioritise the safety, dignity and freedom of women and children.
“Our work in schools, communities, shelters and through advocacy platforms has shown us the reality — women and children are not safe, and silence is no longer an option.
“As an activist, I fully support this shutdown because it symbolises unity and shared purpose.
“When women and men as our allies pause their labour and their spending, when we stand still, even for 15 minutes — we remind the nation and the world that our lives cannot be ignored, undervalued or politicised.
“We honour the victims we’ve lost and we amplify the voices of those still fighting to survive,” she said.
Rev Xolamzi Sam of the Eastern Cape Men’s Movement said: “Personally, I will support any movement, any voice that is added to the fight against gender-based violence.
“It is high time that fighting gender-based violence is made a priority in this country.
“I support and will be involved in the march.”
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.