Seventy years after 20,000 women marched to Pretoria’s Union Buildings against apartheid pass laws, South Africa marked National Women’s Day on August 9, 2026. While leaders highlighted political and educational gains, activists warned that persistent economic inequality and high rates of gender-based violence leave basic freedoms incomplete.
Sophie Williams-de Bruyn Returns to Pretoria 70 Years After Historic Protest
On August 9, 1956, Sophie Williams-de Bruyn was 18 years old when she joined about 20,000 women marching to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest the extension of pass laws to Black women. The demonstrators carried petitions against laws that restricted the movement of Black South Africans, standing in disciplined silence for 30 minutes in an act of resistance that established National Women’s Day.
Seventy years later, Williams-de Bruyn returned to those same grounds for the 2026 commemorations. Her reflection on the anniversary captured a widespread sense of unfinished business. How can we fully celebrate our past victories when our present reality is so deeply disappointing and distressful?
she asked, as reported by aljazeera.com.
Other participants from the era recalled the solidarity that defined the anti-apartheid movement.
“We were ordinary women who believed we could make a difference. We simply believed it was the right thing to do.”
Dinart, via AFRO
Political Representation Versus Daily Economic Realities
During the national commemorations, President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the 1956 march as a defining turning point in the country’s freedom struggle. He pointed to significant democratic gains since the end of apartheid in 1994, noting that women now hold senior positions across the judiciary, parliament, and other institutions, including the roles of chief justice and parliament speaker.
Yet government leaders and civil society organizations acknowledge that political representation has not translated into broad economic security. Ramaphosa noted that women make up more than half of the population but do not yet hold an equal share of land, enterprises, or wealth. Cassandra Dorasamy, a campaigner at Amnesty International South Africa, told aljazeera.com that society has not seen the same meaningful progress in the realities of the majority of women in the country.
“We’ve seen progress in terms of women’s representation in Parliament, companies and local government structures, but we have not seen the same meaningful progress in the realities of the majority of women in the country.”
Cassandra Dorasamy, Amnesty International South Africa campaigner, via Al Jazeera
The Continuing Crisis of Gender-Based Violence and Healthcare Access
Beyond economic pressures, physical security remains a critical concern.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that women continue to live under the threat of violence in the streets, even in their homes. Rights advocates note that securing formal declarations is only an initial step, pointing to ongoing difficulties victims face when attempting to report crimes to authorities.
Younger generations face intersecting challenges involving education, healthcare, and period poverty. Adolescent girls and young women bear a disproportionate burden of HIV infections, with nearly 1,000 acquiring HIV every week, while recent United States foreign aid cuts have disrupted HIV services nationwide.
Preserving Memory at Constitution Hill and Looking Forward
In Johannesburg, the historic Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill now operates as a museum overlooking the Constitutional Court. Nolubabalo Memese, visitors services manager at the precinct, noted that the facility was designed to break, humiliate, dehumanize prisoners during the apartheid era.
The museum honors prominent anti-apartheid icons like Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Albertina Sisulu alongside thousands of ordinary women whose names rarely appear in history books. Our freedom is built on the shoulders of those kinds of women who were at this prison,
Memese said.
That legacy continues to inspire contemporary figures such as Paralympic wheelchair tennis champion Kgothatso Montjane. Reflecting on the anniversary, the 40-year-old athlete emphasized that the resistance mounted 70 years ago paved the way for us.
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