Women For Change mobilise second National Shutdown: Here's what you need to know

Following last year’s successful inaugural initiative staged just one day before the G20, the nationwide Women's Shutdown makes a return this month. On 21 November, women across South Africa wore purple and lay down or sat still for 15 minutes, as well as participated in peaceful protests countrywide.

Organised by anti-gender-based violence (GBV) activist group Women For Change (WFC), the national shutdown is a movement where women, members of the LGBTQI+ community and allies across the country withdraw from economic activities for a set period. 

SEE: More than a moment of mourning: Where women can find support 

The withdrawal is undertaken to demonstrate the devastating effects of a lack of economic participation from women. This year’s procession will begin at Wits University and conclude at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.

Following last year’s inaugural shutdown, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially declared Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) a national disaster.

At 12 pm, participants at Constitution Hill and across South Africa will take part in a symbolic 15-minute lie-down, honouring the approximately 15 women murdered every day in the country.

The procession will culminate in the formal handover of escalated demands to the government, setting a clear deadline for urgent action, implementation and accountability in addressing the ongoing GBVF National Disaster.

According to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), 8 814 cases of rape were recorded, 569 women were killed and 1 052 survived attempted murder between April and June 2026. These are just the reported cases, however, as many victims tragically fall through the cracks.

“Ending GBVF is not only a matter of women's safety. It is a matter of human rights, justice and democratic accountability.

“A democracy cannot promise equality, dignity and freedom while women and children continue to live under the constant threat of violence. Democracy belongs to the people, and its protections must be meaningful in everyday life,” said WFC founder Sabrina Walter.

In September, femicide became a glaring reality for women in South Africa as the discarded bodies of murdered women were discovered in parts of Ekurhuleni.

To date, 12 women’s bodies have been found, and arrests pertaining to only two cases have been made, with a third arrest relating only to the possession of femicide victim Elizabeth Moselakgomo’s stolen property and not the actual murder.

Last month, three women were brutally gunned down by a disgruntled employee following his disciplinary hearing at Boxer Supermarket in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal.

The suspect remains at large. There has not been any update from law enforcement since Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Magwaza’s 19 October announcement that there were no new developments. The murdered victims, whose grieving families remain with unanswered questions, were Thandiwe Chili, Thembeka Ndaba and Lulama Mthembu.

• What: Women’s National Shutdown

• Where: Constitutional Court and other parts of SA

• When: 12:00PM, 21 November

WFC and its partners are yet again calling on allies to rally behind them in demanding urgent government intervention to end violence against women and children.  

READ: Women for Change founder Sabrina Walter on hope, action and ending GBV

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