The national Women’s Day event will take place at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on August 9 from 9am. The buildings are significant as it was there on August 9 in 1956, that around 20 000 women from all corners of South Africa gathered in Pretoria and marched to the Union Buildings to deliver a petition to the then Prime Minister Strijdom. Prominent people expected to attend the event are President Jacob Zuma, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane and Arts and Culture minister Paul Mashatile. On August 8, the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities and Gauteng Provincial Government will hold a night vigil from 8pm to 6am at the Tshwane City Hall. Other events planned include the South African State Theatre which will stage Drama Queen: The Lebo Mathosa Story. In the Northern Cape a Provincial Memorial Lecture will be held in honour of Frances Baard, Sophie Du Bruyn, Ruth First, Ray Alexandar, Doroth Nyembe, Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi and Rahima Moosa.
In the Western Cape, the St Luke’s Hospice Women’s Day Brunch will be taking place at Rondebosch to support the charity. Over the next few weeks, the Department of Environmental Affairs will host the National Women’s Dialogue on Environmental Programme at Birchwood Hotel and the South African Police Service will hold the Women in blue, roadblocks manned by women police & visit Victim Empowerment Centres in Pretoria. The National Youth Development Agency will also host the YW assemblies, economic participation and personal/leadership development in the Free State. The Department of Science & Technology will host the Women in Science Awards, profiling and give scholarship using S&T to develop rural women. The Social Development and Social Programmes will hold a Women Struggle Veterans Dialogue in Port Elizabeth.
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