Women’s Day in South Africa turns 70 with equality still out of reach

What the report says

South Africa marked Women’s Day on 9 August with renewed attention to the gap between legal gains for women and the realities many still face, according to Al Jazeera columnist Sisonke Msimang. The piece centres on the 70th anniversary of the 1956 women’s march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, when about 20,000 women protested apartheid-era pass laws that were being extended to African women. The march, led by the Federation of South African Women and the ANC Women’s League, has since become a defining moment in the country’s feminist and anti-apartheid history.

Al Jazeera says the protest did not stop the pass laws, but it helped launch a broader women’s movement that shaped later struggles for democracy and equality. The article notes that women who came after the march helped secure legal and policy reforms after apartheid ended in 1994, including changes linked to reproductive rights, customary law, marriage and domestic workers’ rights. South Africa today has relatively strong female representation in politics, with women holding a large share of parliamentary and cabinet positions.

The commentary argues, however, that these advances have not translated into safety or economic justice for many women. It cites high levels of gender-based violence, unemployment and poor access to services, especially in poorer communities. More broadly, the article says South Africa’s experience shows that formal rights alone do not automatically change social attitudes or material conditions, and that equality requires wider social and political action.