​In South Africa, August is widely recognized as Women's Month, a time to honor and appreciate the significant contributions made by women who marched to the Union Building to protest against the carrying of pass books.
This month-long celebration also aims to raise awareness about women's struggles for gender equality and their rights.

On Tuesday, 08 August 2023, the Gauteng Department of Social Development together with various Non-Profit Organizations in Sedibeng gathered at Bophelong Community Hall to commemorate women’s month and to highlight the continuous plight of women across all the spectrum of society.

About 300 women including young girls across Bophelong and the surrounding townships came to receive message of hope and guidance from other women who have made it against all odds.

The Gauteng Social Development’s Social Worker, Ouma Malimabe, said while their aim is to celebrate and acknowledge the achievement of women, they also want to use the activities of this month to address the pandemic of gender-based violence against women and children in the hands of people who are supposed to protect them.

She said this is not only a celebration but also a recognition of the resilience of South African women in their struggle for women’s total emancipation and equal rights.

Malimabe added that young women need to focus on upskilling themselves so that they can be empowered to break the cycle of being abused due to being dependent on others.

“As the department, we found it fit for us to come here today to celebrate Women’s Month, we thought it is very important for women to gather so that they share the experience of violence they continue to face and how we can work together in curbing the scourge of violence against them”, she said.

Malimabe urged women to stand up and fight against abuse that is perpetuated against women and children. She encouraged the unity of women against gender-based violence and femicide.

For South African women and the continent at large, it is a luta continua (the struggle continues); because indeed the struggle continues for equal access to land, capital, employment opportunities, and freedom in general. The struggle continues against poverty, oppression, discrimination, inequality, stereotyping, rape, assaults, and femicide.