The country has gone purple, as thousands of South Africans have turned their social media profiles different shades purple in support of non-profit organisation, Women for Change’s G20 Women’s shutdown.
The shutdown, which calls for an end to gender based violence and femicide in the country, is set to take place on Friday, 21 November, ahead of the country’s G20 summit.
According to the organisation, the shutdown is not a march or physically protest, but citizens have been urged to dress in all black and lie down for 15 minutes at noon to symbolise a collective refusal to keep the country running while women are dying.
The NPO have stated that a march or protest was not possible due to capacity, funding and logistics across the country.
“We call on all women and members of the LGBTQI+ community across South Africa 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,” added Women for Change
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The NGO has also launched a petition calling on the South African government to declare gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster. The petition, which has been widely shared, has already gained over 700,000 signatures.
“Because until South Africa 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.”
READ MORE: Declare GBVF a National Disaster in South Africa
Women for Change has called on the government to address the petition with the same level of urgency that the government applied to COVID-19.
According to the organisation, the petition was officially handed over to the government in April 2025, but has been ignored by the Presidency and the Department of Women.
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Statistics released by the organisation showed that over 5,500 women have reportedly been murdered in the country in just one year, which is allegedly a 33,8% increase when compared to the previous year.
READ MORE: ANC slams Trump’s “racist and imperialist” remarks as AU backs South Africa’s G20 leadership
