South Africa is facing a crisis that demands national attention and global solidarity.
On 21 November 2025, thousands across the country will participate in a National Shutdown Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide, organized by Women For Change and supported by over 850,000 petitioners on Change.org.
This is not a protest in the streets. It is a symbolic silence. A withdrawal of labour, spending, and movement to highlight the devastating impact of GBV on South African society.
The Numbers Are Not Just Statistics
In 2024, 5,578 women were murdered in South Africa—a 33.8% increase in femicide.To make this number impossible to ignore, Women For Change created The Unburied Casket:
We demand that Gender-Based Violence and Femicide be declared a National Disaster. Not tomorrow. Not at another summit.
This is not just a women’s issue. It is a national emergency.
What Will Happen on 21 November
Participants are called to:
- Stay home from work, school, or university.
- Avoid spending money for the day.
- Wear black, and change profile pictures to purple.
- Join a 15-minute silent standstill at 12:00, lying down wherever they are to honour the lives lost to GBV.
This shutdown coincides with the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, amplifying the message to both national and global leaders: GBV must be declared a national disaster.
In Solidarity: SheCab Will Not Operate
As a women-led transport service committed to safety and empowerment, SheCab will suspend all operations on 21 November in solidarity with this movement. We stand with survivors. We stand with change. We stand still.
Let this day be remembered not for what we did, but for what we refused to accept.
🔗 Resources:
- Change.org Petition
- Women For Change Movement :https://womenforchange.co.za/g20-women-shutdown/
- More and petition: https://womenforchange.co.za/petition-gbvf-national-disaster/
