POLL | How are you commemorating Women’s Day?

Women's Day marks the anniversary of a march in 1956 by thousands of women who protested against the apartheid government's rule forcing Africans to carry pass books when travelling between where they stayed and urban areas. 

South African women, 67 years later, are still fighting societal and systematic suppression. August 9 has been dominated by the deaths of many, some at the hands of their partners.

Despite several interventions by the government, the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) continues to claim lives.

Among other issues in the spotlight, this year has been a call for equal pay for sportswomen. This was made as the women’s national team Banyana Banyana made history in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup where they qualified for the last 16. 

“Male-dominated team sports like football, cricket and rugby still receive the lion’s share of funding and sponsorship. These codes, all have established professional leagues, whereas women’s football, cricket and rugby do not,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

“This contributes to the huge disparity between the remuneration of female athletes and their male counterparts.

“Equal pay for work of equal value is one of the most fundamental tenets of gender equality. The sporting fraternity is neither exceptional nor is it exempt.

“That female athletes should still earn less than their male counterparts is an affront to our nation’s sportswomen, more so at a time when the achievements of some of our women’s sports teams surpass those of our men’s teams.”