South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged that gender equality be embedded across all policies and decision-making, as the country observes Women’s Month.

In his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa encouraged women to play a leading role in the upcoming National Dialogue, set to launch in Pretoria on Friday. The dialogue aims to unite individuals and organizations to address South Africa’s pressing challenges through consensus and innovation.

“Women are affected by every political, social, and economic issue in the country. Every crisis — from unemployment and crime to climate change — impacts women equally, and often more severely than men,” Ramaphosa said. He called on women’s groups to mobilize and actively shape the process, ensuring their voices guide national priorities.

Highlighting diverse experiences, he noted that rural women, urban professionals, and women with disabilities face unique realities. The government has committed to gender parity in all bodies supporting the dialogue, with Ramaphosa stressing that no policy should be approved without assessing its impact on women.

Reflecting on Women’s Day celebrations on Saturday, the president honored the legacy of the 1956 Women’s March, where over 20,000 women of all races protested the apartheid-era pass laws.

“The march was not only a political protest but also a powerful declaration of women’s agency,” he said. “It signaled that South African women would not be passive bystanders in decisions affecting their lives.”

Ramaphosa’s message reinforced the government’s pledge to ensure that women’s perspectives are integral to shaping South Africa’s future — from economic development to social justice — during Women’s Month and beyond.