By Sienna Simon
Heemstede residents enjoying Women’s Week activities. Supplied by Arianna Heyns.
On paper, International Women’s Day is about celebration. In reality, it is also about survival, resilience, and the long fight for safety and equality for many South African women. At Stellenbosch University (SU), students reflect on what this global day of recognition really means in the context of their everyday lives and the importance of female voices on campus.
A brief history of International Women’s Day
The celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March can be traced back to Russia in 1917, when women protested against harsh working conditions and unfair pay. This marked the beginning of many female-led resistance movements, including the iconic Women’s Protest March that took place in South Africa on 9 August 1956.
Led by Lillian Ngoyi, this protest ignited the fight for equality for women in a South African context, blazing the trail for the future female generations of the country. However, 70 years later, women in South Africa still find themselves pleading for safety, government accountability and a system of justice that protects them.
Riddled with Gender-Based Violence (GBV), South Africa has earned itself one of the highest femicide rates in the world. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s data, South Africa’s femicide rate is roughly six times higher than the global average. Stellenbosch itself has suffered from a disturbingly high rate of GBV incidents. With this in mind, it is important to consider what a day of recognition means to SU students in this context, when the other 364 days of the year are a reality characterised by constant fear and tragedy.
Residence Initiatives
For some students, International Women’s Day is a celebration – a moment of pride, empowerment and appreciation for the women who shape and enrich their lives. The female residence, Heemstede, allowed International Women’s Day to reach new heights by creating an event which they named “Heemstede’s Women’s Week”: a week filled with activities that aim to empower and inspire their female residents, while fostering meaningful connections with the women around them.
Dhivya Naicker (third-year BSc (Bioinformatics and Computational Biology) student), a member of Heemstede’s HC, said, “International Women’s Day is an opportunity to intentionally and wholeheartedly celebrate being a woman, our successes, our challenges and the journeys that shape us.” She added that Heemstede’s Women’s Week is an annual event, intentionally set aside to honour the women in the residence environment.
When asked what being a woman in South Africa meant to her, Naicker said that, although it can feel “scary and intimidating”, within that daunting reality she finds a powerful strength. Similarly, other students on campus identified that reflecting on being a woman in South Africa can stir a complex mix of emotions.
Nqobile Masilela (first-year BSc (Human Life Sciences) student) said that, although the fight for women’s safety in South Africa is far from over, one “should never miss an opportunity to celebrate women”. She emphasised that women cannot allow the perpetrators of such violence to overshadow a day that should recognise a womanhood defined by strength.
2025 Women for Change Protest. Photo by Leah Falcon.
The uncomfortable conversations behind 8 March
Yet for many students, beneath the celebration lies a more sobering reality. International Women’s Day prompts difficult conversations about women’s safety and the realities of gender-based violence in South Africa. Malaika Ngwenya (fourth-year LLB student), a leading voice in the GBV resistance movement in Stellenbosch, said, “After working closely with many GBV victims at SU, it is clear that women are not even protected, never mind celebrated.”
When asked what she would want students on campus to take away from International Women’s Day, she said that she would like women to feel heard and seen. Ngwenya added that most often “a victim of GBV is simply grateful to have been heard, believed and treated with respect”.
She highlighted the fact that the people you see celebrating International Women’s day, posting infographics on social media to raise awareness, and participating in GBV protest crowds, are predominantly women themselves. She called for men on campus to get more involved in the cause and to start seeing their female peers as equals.
Ngwenya concluded that “[International Women’s Day] on campus should serve as a reminder for all students, both male and female, to treat one another with care and dignity, in an attempt to correct the culture of violence that has become so wrongfully normalised”. Ngwenya’s thoughts about the meaning of International Women’s Day are echoed by other students at SU.
Amukelani Knoza (first-year BSc (Chemistry and Polymer Science) student) confirmed that for her, being a woman in South Africa is about survival. She explained that she was hopeful that in the future, men on campus will support the struggle against GBV and hold each other accountable.
International Women’s Day, as reflected in the voices of Stellenbosch students, is far more than a symbolic date on the calendar. For some, it is a day of pride and celebration and an important moment to recognise the strength, resilience and achievements of women. For others, it is a poignant reminder of the realities of gender-based violence that continue to shape the lives of women across South Africa.
It is possible that the true meaning of the day lies somewhere between these two perspectives. It is both a celebration and a call to action: a reminder that, while progress deserves recognition, the fight for safety, dignity and equality for women is far from over.
