Today we celebrate South African women.

But perhaps we should pause for a moment and remember why we celebrate this day.

On 9 August 1956, around 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, standing together against the apartheid pass laws that were being extended to African women.

They came from different backgrounds, different communities and different walks of life.

But on that day, they stood as ONE.

They carried a petition with more than 100,000 signatures and, when they were denied an audience, they stood together in silence.

And then they sang:

“Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo.”

You strike a woman, you strike a rock.

Those women could never have known how powerful their courage would become.

Today, 70 years later, their legacy lives on.

In the woman who raises a family while building a career.

In the grandmother who holds her family together.

In the woman who starts again when life knocks her down.

In the entrepreneur who takes a chance on herself.

In the caregiver who gives endlessly.

In the young girl learning that her voice matters.

And in every South African woman who continues to stand, even when life isn’t easy.

We are strong.

We are resilient.

We are compassionate.

We are powerful.

We are women.

Today, let’s not only celebrate the women we are.

Let’s honor the women who came before us, the women who made sacrifices for us, and the women who are paving the way for those who will come after us.

Because when women stand together, we don’t just move mountains — we become the rocks that cannot be moved.

Happy Women’s Day, South Africa!

To every woman reading this today:

Never forget your strength. Never underestimate your voice. And never forget the women who stood before you so that you could stand where you are today.

Let us as women, follow these amazing women’s example, today and every day, by standing together, supporting each other. OUR VOICES MATTER!