9 August 2015
This year’s National Women’s Day will be celebrated in Sasolburg, Free State. To commemorate this historic day, about 20 000 women from all 9 provinces will take part in a historic rally in Sasolburg under the theme: “Women united in moving South Africa forward.”
The rally is part of the build-up towards the 60th celebration of the 1956 Women’s March. It will highlight the challenges that women continue to face, while taking stock of significant advances made since the dawn of democracy.
As part of Women’s Day celebrations, President Jacob Zuma, will release the first Status of Women Report. It was compiled by the Department of Women after hosting dialogues across the country between the months of March and June 2015 in a bid to assess the current status of women.
Details of the event are:
Date: Sunday, 9 August 2015
Time: 08h00
Venue: Harry Gwala Multipurpose, Sasolburg (Free State Province)
On 9 August 1956, about 20 000 women of all races marched to the Union Buildings to protest against the discriminatory pass laws which had restricted the movement of black people in the country. This march has been celebrated since 1995 as Women’s Day, to recognise the important and significant role that political activism by women played during the struggle for liberation against colonisation and apartheid.
This year’s Women’s Month – celebrated throughout the month of August - is taking place against the backdrop of 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter this year, and the Women’s Charter in 2014.
The national celebrations are all the more significant because the African Union has prioritised women empowerment by declaring 2015 as the “Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa's Agenda 2063.”
