Thousands of South Africans have turned their social-media profiles purple this week in solidarity with the campaign launched by the non-profit Women for Change, which is calling for a one-day national shutdown ahead of the country hosting the G20 Summit, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The shutdown, set for next Friday, demands an end to gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa. Women for Change has urged women and LGBTQI+ community members across the nation to stop all paid and unpaid work in homes, workplaces and educational institutions, as well as to refrain from spending any money that day, a symbolic action to demonstrate the economic and social impact of their absence.
At 12pm on the shutdown day, participants are asked to lie down for a silent 15-minutes, wearing black to express mourning and resistance. The act symbolises the roughly 15 women murdered each day in South Africa, according to the organisation.
Women for Change states that the petition to declare gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster has already gained hundreds of thousands of signatures and was handed to the government in April 2025, yet they say meaningful action has still not followed.
‘Until South Africa stops burying a woman every 2.5 hours, the G20 cannot speak of growth and progress,’ the organisation said. The day of protest is timed to coincide with the country’s hosting of the G20 summit as a way of shining a spotlight on the issue in front of the global community.
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Instead of a public march, which the organisation says is unfeasible due to capacity, funding and logistics, the shutdown emphasises symbolic actions and online solidarity. Users have changed profile pictures to purple, and many landmark buildings and major social-media accounts have shown support.
Women for Change has explicitly called on men and businesses to participate; women and LGBTQI+ people lead the action, but male allies are urged to support it by amplifying the message and recognising the gravity of the crisis.
With the campaign gaining strong visibility and the countdown to the G20 summit underway, the nationwide shutdown aims to send a clear message: this is not just a policy issue but a lived emergency for millions of South Africans.
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Picture: Women for Change / Instagram
