South Africa announces G20 women’s shutdown in protest against femicide

By Culton Scovia Nakamya

A South African feminist organisation has announced a national women shutdown on 21 November 2025 ahead of the G20 summit in South Africa.

The shutdown has been organised by Women For Change (WFC), a feminist organisation challenging violence against women.

The movement follows a surge in femicide cases and violence against women, which activists argue must be declared a national disaster to compel government action. Femicide refers to the killing of women and girls by intimate partners or family members. According to UN Women, a woman is killed globally every ten minutes.

South Africa loses 15 women every day to femicide, giving the country one of the highest global prevalence rates.

The South African Medical Research Council reports that 33% of women above 18 years have experienced physical violence. In the 2020/2021 period, 60% of women’s deaths were attributed to their partners.

In 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill to implement the National Strategic Plan to end gender-based violence through a national body. Despite these efforts, femicide rates remain high in the country.

As the International Economic Forum G20 prepares to convene its 20th sitting in South Africa, the Women For Change movement says heads of state cannot discuss economics and stability while women are being killed.

“Every 2.5 hours, a woman is killed in South Africa. Our silence has been met with inaction. Now our silence will be our protest. South African women will show the G20 what happens when women disappear,” said Sabrina Walter, the executive director of Women For Change.

The shutdown means that on 21 November, no woman should work—whether paid or unpaid—and should withdraw from the economy by avoiding all spending that day. The movement also urges women to take a 15-minute standstill or lie down at 12 noon in commemoration of the 15 women murdered daily.

Merlize Jogiat, the leader of the movement, says they have tabled several demands before the government, including declaring femicide a national disaster to enable appropriate funding and reforms in the justice system to impose tougher punishments on perpetrators.

The movement has also adopted the colour purple to popularise the shutdown, rallying communities to embrace it both online and offline in solidarity with victims of femicide and violence.

Since the announcement, the colour purple has gained traction on various streets and landmarks such as the Mall of Africa in Johannesburg, while many individuals across Africa have adopted it as their profile picture on social media.

By announcing the shutdown ahead of the G20 summit, the feminist movement calls for collective action to end femicide.