A national shutdown is planned for Friday, 21 November 2025. Organised by the advocacy group Women for Change, the protest aims to highlight South Africa’s gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) crisis.
The event will take place the day before the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The summit is scheduled for 22 and 23 November in Johannesburg. This marks the first time an African country will chair the global bloc.
Women for Change is urging women to participate. They are asked to withdraw from all paid and unpaid work for the day. This includes their jobs, universities, and homes. The organisation also called for a spending boycott to show their economic impact.
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A day of symbolic action
The protest will not involve marches. Instead, it will focus on symbolic actions. A key event is a 15-minute silent lie-down at 12:00. This is to honour the 15 women murdered daily in the country.
Participants are encouraged to wear black for mourning and resistance. They are also asked to change their social media profiles to purple. This is to create online visibility for the shutdown. The hashtag #WomenShutdown is being used to spread the message.
The organisation has made it clear that men can join as allies. They can support by amplifying the message and participating in the economic boycott.
The ultimate goal of the shutdown is to pressure the government. Activists want GBVF to be declared a National Disaster. A petition with over 200,000 signatures was handed to the government in April 2025. However, Women for Change says it has been ignored.
Image via M-Care Optima.
