Seeing purple profile pictures everywhere. Must be wondering what is happening?
South Africa is set to witness an unprecedented demonstration of solidarity and resistance as the group Women For Change organises a national shutdown on Friday 21 November 2025. This historic action, strategically timed just before the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, aims to force the government to declare Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) a national disaster.
The statistics paint a harrowing picture: a woman is buried every 2,5 hours due to gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa. This translates to approximately 15 women murdered every single day, a crisis that has reached epidemic proportions yet continues to be inadequately addressed by authorities.
Women For Change is demanding immediate action rather than relying on existing frameworks that have proven insufficient. The movement seeks to demonstrate women’s critical economic and social contribution by showing what happens when they withdraw their labour and economic participation for just one day.
IMAGE: Instagram/Women For Change
A strategic international platform
The timing of the shutdown is deliberately calculated to maximise international pressure during South Africa’s hosting of the G20 Summit on 22-23 November. Speaking to SABC News, Cameron Kasambala, spokesperson for Women For Change, explained that having world leaders witness South Africa’s internal crisis first-hand creates an opportunity to leverage global attention for meaningful change. “We’re using this international spotlight to compel both local and international leaders to take decisive action rather than offering more empty promises,” she noted.
Complete economic withdrawal
The shutdown calls for comprehensive participation across multiple dimensions. Women and LGBTQI+ individuals – is encouraged to withdraw completely from economic activities, including refraining from all paid and unpaid work and avoiding any purchases, throughout the day. The movement’s powerful slogan, “Without women, South Africa stops,” encapsulates the demonstration’s core message about women’s indispensable economic contribution.
For those unable to skip work entirely the campaign offers an inclusive alternative: a 15-minute moment of silence and lie-down at exactly 12:00. This symbolic action honours each of the 15 women murdered daily in South Africa, with participants encouraged to lie down wherever they are – offices, homes, parks or designated public meeting points.
Digital solidarity movement
A remarkable aspect of this movement has been the widespread adoption of visual solidarity measures. Women and men across the country are changing their social media profile pictures to any shade of purple, creating a powerful digital demonstration of support. Participants are also encouraged to wear black in mourning and resistance, making the movement visible both online and in physical spaces.
Government failure and broken promises
Kasambala’s criticism of governmental response was scathing, highlighting the failure to implement existing frameworks.
“Despite the 2019 National Strategic Plan against GBVF and commitments made at the 2018 presidential summit, we’ve seen no transparent resource allocation or measurable progress,” she stated.
The stark contradiction between governmental claims of improvement and rising GBV statistics has fuelled the movement’s urgency.
Women For Change has consistently demanded that GBV and femicide be declared a national disaster,” Kasambala emphasised, “which would unlock emergency resources, mandate coordinated government response and ensure sustained intervention rather than ad-hoc measures. We need swift mobilisation of funds, accountability and concrete action, and not more frameworks or legislation.”
Unprecedented public support
The movement has garnered remarkable citizen engagement, with Women For Change’s petition advocating for GBV reform receiving more than 770 000 signatures. This overwhelming public support demonstrates the widespread recognition of the crisis and demand for action. Kasambala stressed that sustained citizen pressure plays a critical role in maintaining momentum and compelling governmental accountability.
The shutdown represents more than a single day of protest; it’s a moral test for South Africa’s values and priorities. As the country hosts international leaders while grappling with one of the world’s highest rates of violence against women the movement poses fundamental questions about the kind of society South Africans want to build.
The comprehensive nature of the shutdown – combining economic withdrawal, symbolic remembrance, digital solidarity, and international timing – creates multiple pressure points designed to make the crisis impossible to ignore. From corporate boardrooms experiencing absent workers to social media feeds flooded with purple profiles the movement aims to penetrate every level of society.
A call for sustained action
Kasambala concluded with a heartfelt appeal for continued advocacy beyond 21 November. “This shutdown is a necessary wake-up call,” she emphasised, “but real change requires persistent pressure and accountability. The movement encourages participants to support local organizations combating GBV, continue conversations with family and colleagues, and maintain advocacy efforts using the hashtag #WomenShutdown.”
As South Africa prepares to host world leaders while confronting its own internal crisis 21 November represents a pivotal moment. The question remains whether this unprecedented demonstration of solidarity and economic power will finally catalyse the systemic change that thousands of women’s lives depend on.
