The Revolution is Purple: Why You Should Not Go to Work on 21 November 2025

-Ashley Allard

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On the 24th of October, 1975, women in Iceland brought the economy to a standstill. In a prepared strike, all women collectively decided that they would not do any paid or unpaid work for the day — which would later be named the Long Friday — with the expectation that the Icelandic guarantee equal pay. That day, women did not show up to work: men prepared by buying papers and crayons and brought their children with them to work. Within the home, women refused to do any of the invisible labour: They didn’t cook or clean or change nappies or do the dishes or hang up the laundry. 90% of women took part. 

A rally was held on this day, and 11% of the entire population gathered in the Reykjavik capital. Here, women from all classes spoke for equal pay: this included parliament members, housewives and trade union representatives. The following year, a bill was passed, guaranteeing women equal pay. Since then, Iceland is the most gender-equal country in the world. 

If this manner of protest sounds familiar, it is probably because you must have seen it, coloured in all shades of purple, across social media. On the 21st of November, Women for Change have called for a G20 Women's Shutdown. Women are asked to: 

• Refrain from all labour, unpaid and paid;

• Refrain from purchasing anything or withdrawing money;

• Join a 15 minute standstill from 12.00-12.15 by lying down;

• And wear black. 

The 21st of November is the first official day of the G20 Summit, set to be hosted in Johannesburg for the first time in South African history. Even without the movement, the meeting has already been brought into the limelight, following US and Argentinian boycotts of the event. Hosting the Women Shutdown on the first day of the summit will make it impossible for the government to ignore. 

South Africa needs its women. Women are the backbone of the country, and it is time this is recognised. South African history has continuously erased and rendered the role of women invisible. But more importantly, women are being raped and murdered. Daily. Hourly. In our homes, on the streets, in cars, at work, in fields, in cities, in townships, in suburbs. Women are being beaten, decapitated, kidnapped, sold into slavery, forced into human trafficking, left for dead. Women are being murdered by strangers, by family members, by loved ones. White women, Black women, Coloured women, Indian women, Asian women. Trans women, Queer women, straight women. No woman is safe. It is time to make it known that the country cannot survive without its women. It is long overdue that we call it what it is: A National Disaster. 

Every woman you know has either experienced assault or knows someone close to them who has. 1/3 South African women have and will suffer brutally at the hands of South African men. In this country, one woman is raped every twelve minutes. It one can be anyone. It can be you. It can be your mother, your sister, your aunt, your cousin. If it isn’t already. 

This is an incredibly important moment. And therefore it has to be more than changing your profile picture to purple. We need change. And we need legislative change. Do not go to work. Do not do any work at home. Do not purchase or transact or withdraw any money. The economy must come to a standstill. Women have done this before us, and it has worked. But it needs all of us to leave a dent in the economy for it to work. 

And Men:

Do more than change your profile picture to purple, and upload a purple heart to your notes on Instagram. Being a man in this time, in this country, comes with the responsibility of speaking up, of calling out your peers, of correcting your own behaviour. You cannot win our trust by posting purple. If you bought tickets to Chris Brown, you are a hypocrite. If you proudly call yourself a performative man, you are a hypocrite. If you refuse to read or interact with anything made by women, you are a hypocrite. If you cat-call, you’re complicit. If you talk shit about your girlfriend or slut-shame, you are complicit. If have a fear that one day you will be falsely accused, you are complicit. If you do not vote in the national elections, you are complicit. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. The men in this country have to do better. Have a backbone, and recognise that your voice, too, is important and can stop this violence from continuing. Educate yourself, and help the women around you: whether it is to get home safe, or to listen, or to report violent activity. You have to be active. And active means more than pretending on social media. And trust me, we will be watching you. And we will not forgive you. 

This has to be a group effort. Everyone, not only women, are suffering from this epidemic. November 21 is our chance to have our voices heard. Join us, and together we can make a change.