President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 National Women’s Day commemoration event at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Sunday.
“This occasion will mark the 70th anniversary of the 1956 protest march to the Union Buildings by at least 20 000 women. The 1956 march opposed the apartheid government’s decision to extend urban pass laws to women, and was a precursor to major political changes over [the] coming decades that led to the demise of the racist regime in South Africa,” the Presidency said on Friday.
The National Women’s Day commemorations this year take place under the theme: “Empowered Women, Empower Nations.”
Since 1994, National Women’s Day is celebrated on 09 August every year as part of Women’s Month.
“This year's celebration emphasises improving women's access to quality healthcare, vital for sustainable development, social justice and economic growth.”
The Presidency said Women’s Month provides an opportunity for government and civil society to highlight the challenges confronting women and profile programmes and policies that advance women's empowerment and gender equity.
It also provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the generations of women such as Lilian Ngoyi whose struggles laid the foundations for the progress made in the democratic era in empowering women and advancing gender equality.
At the launch of Women’s Month on 1 August, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga reflected on the impact of the 20 000 women who marched in 1956.
“With every step, they shook the pillars of oppression. With every stride, they redrew the boundaries of possibility. They marched as the authors of our liberation and freedom, the midwives of democracy, the first architects of a more equal South Africa and the custodians of a future they would never fully see but boldly chose to build.
“They became the rhythm of a nation’s progress, echoing through every classroom, every boardroom, every parliament, every marketplace, and every enterprise led by women today,” the Minister said at the time. -SAnews.gov.za
