Why gender-based violence in South Africa is now a national emergency
We look back at South Africa’s nationwide shutdown by women, as they halted work to protest gender-based violence.

We look back at South Africa’s nationwide shutdown by women, as they halted work to protest gender-based violence.


![Women hold banners reading 'You are healthy children of patriarchy' and 'Femicide is a state murder, the state does not protect us' during a gathering for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Milan, Italy, on November 25, 2023 [Luca Bruno/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AP23354583740518-1764125496.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![A one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed in Sacramento, California. [File: Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AP24294731799137-1764057290.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

![“I’ve lived in this camp for 45 years,” says Bachalibanoya. After her husband’s death, the children of his other wife accused her of witchcraft—an allegation that would alter the course of her life. Now the oldest resident of the Gambaga camp, she has lived in exile for more than four decades. [Claire Thomas/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CT_GHANA_9MAY25_0186-1763638267-1-1763884262.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)



As fishing traditions are threatened by storms and poachers, pearl oyster farms offer a lifeline to coastal communities.
IOM chief calls for ceasefire to allow aid groups to reach Sudanese civilians trapped in war-torn Darfur region.
I’d crashed my car into a homeless woman. She spent her final moments showing me kindness.
The president has announced a review of laws against sexual harassment in the country plagued by a femicide crisis.
Girls are raped, boys are forced to fight and families go hungry, but the world looks away.
Pakistan rolled out the vaccine for the HPV virus last month. The virus causes cervical cancer.
















We dive into the BirthStrike movement and the wider phenomenon of declining populations.
Appointment clinched via a last-minute coalition deal, but government remains without a majority.