The 1956 Women's March was a historic protest against the apartheid government's pass laws, which restricted the movement of black women.
Seventy years ago, on August 9, 1956, more than 20,000 courageous women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in peaceful defiance of apartheid's oppressive pass laws. They marched not only against unjust legislation but against a system that denied women their dignity, their agency and their rightful place in society.
Their historic action became one of the defining moments in South Africa's liberation struggle and inspired generations with the enduring words: Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo—"You strike a woman, you strike a rock."
Today, as we commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Women's March, we honour these extraordinary women by recommitting ourselves to the constitutional vision they helped make possible—a democratic South Africa founded on human dignity, equality, non-racialism, non-sexism, the advancement of human rights and freedoms, and the rule of law.
Our Constitution is not merely a legal document; it is our national covenant. It reflects the aspirations of millions who struggled for justice and demands that we build a society in which every person enjoys equal protection, equal opportunity and equal worth.
