In the weeks leading up to South Africa’s G20 Leaders’ Summit, social media feeds across the country have taken on a striking colour of purple.
A huge section of users are changing their profile pictures to the colour as part of the G20 Women’s Shutdown, a nationwide protest organised by Women for Change, set to take place on Friday, 21 November 2025.
A Call for Collective Standstill
The stand comes amidst rising cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide in the country.
Women for Change — a civil society organisation that campaigns against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) — has called on allies to withdraw from all forms of labour, both paid and unpaid, on the eve of the summit.
“We call on all women and members of the LGBTQI+ community across South Africa to refrain from all paid and unpaid work in workplaces, universities, and homes, and to spend no money for the entire day to demonstrate the economic and social impact of their absence,” the organisation said.
Why Purple?
In the midst, supporters have taken the online space by storm, changing their social media profile pictures to purple, a colour long associated with resistance, justice, and women’s empowerment.
Purple carries historical weight from the suffragette movements of the early 1900s to global women’s rights campaigns today.
By turning their profiles purple, participants aim to make the shutdown visible online, creating a wave of solidarity that transcends physical boundaries.
For many South Africans, the purple profile picture offers a safe and accessible way to participate, especially for those unable to step away from work or public duties.
In an era where activism is as much online as on the streets, this simple digital gesture mirrors the physical act of withdrawal, transforming silence and absence into a visible form of resistance.
The protest’s timing is deliberate. With the G20 Summit being hosted in South Africa, organisers hope to use the global attention on the event to pressure leaders into addressing the ongoing femicide crisis.
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