By Noko Mashilo
As South Africa prepares to commemorate Women’s Month, a coalition of women led by Margins Push Boundaries and the Sisonke National Movement, from some of the country’s most overlooked communities is set to launch a bold campaign demanding justice, dignity and equal protection under the law.
The campaign, which will officially launch on Monday, 10 August 2026, at the Observatory Golf Club in Johannesburg, calls for urgent reforms that place the rights, safety and wellbeing of all women at the centre of South Africa’s democracy.
Yonela Sinqu, Communications Officer at Sisonke National Movement told Vula Vala that the initiative moves beyond symbolic Women’s Month celebrations and focuses on concrete policy and legislative changes that will improve the lives of thousands of women.
“Among our key demands are stronger legal and labour protections for domestic workers, child-minders and care workers, the decriminalisation of consensual adult sex work, full legal recognition and protection for transgender women, and greater accountability within the South African Police Service in preventing, investigating and prosecuting gender-based violence,” said Sinqu.
She further said the launch will bring together 120 marginalised women from diverse communities, creating a platform for them to share their lived experiences, celebrate their resilience and collectively advocate for a more inclusive South Africa.
“Through storytelling, dialogue and collective action, participants will challenge the exclusion and invisibility that many women continue to face while asserting their role as leaders, workers, caregivers and agents of social change,” she explained.
According to Dr Shevonne Henry, Executive Director of Margins Push Boundaries the initiative is about ensuring that no woman is left behind in the country’s pursuit of equality. “Women’s Month cannot only be about celebration. It must also be about confronting the realities faced by women who continue to experience discrimination, violence and exclusion.
This campaign is a call for action to ensure that every woman, whether she is a domestic worker, a care worker, a sex worker or a transgender woman is recognised, protected and treated with dignity. Our voices matter, and our rights cannot continue to be ignored,” said Henry.
Organisers believe the campaign marks the beginning of a broader national movement aimed at influencing policy, strengthening accountability and ensuring that marginalised women participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lives.
The Women’s Day programme is expected to serve as both a celebration of resilience and a public declaration that every woman deserves to be seen, heard and valued.
More importantly, organisers say, it is a call for South Africa to move beyond symbolic recognition and commit to lasting structural change that guarantees justice, equality and safety for all women.
