Women’s Day 2025

Justice not resilience

As we observe South Africa’s National Women’s Day 2025 and Women’s Month, we reflect on the government’s theme for this year: “Building Resilient Economies for All”. At SD Law, we regularly speak up for women in society, not only in honour of Women’s Day and 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, but in our everyday practice of law, as we help women secure fair maintenance arrangements after divorce, safely leave abusive relationships, and defend their rights to safety and equality in the workplace. We look back on what we wrote last year, and feel compelled to repeat it, because nothing has changed. We wrote, “We say ‘observe’ rather than ‘celebrate’ because women still experience physical and emotional abuse and even death at the hands of men every day at shamefully high rates in our country…According to a recent report by the Commission for Gender Equality, although overall poverty has declined since 1993, the number of women in poverty remains persistently higher than men at a national level. Women face the triple challenge of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Setting aside one day or month in the year to acknowledge the contributions women make to society is an inadequate gesture that does little to improve the status of women in South Africa.”

Because minimal progress has been made in a year, we have chosen to reflect on the work that still remains to be done. The government invites us to honour the economic and social contributions of South African women, but we must also recognise the systemic challenges women continue to face, particularly in the context of family life, work and financial independence.

For many South African women, economic resilience is not a choice. It is a necessity — especially after divorce.

The financial fallout of divorce

While divorce can offer relief from an unsustainable, unhappy or unsafe marriage, it often brings financial instability in its wake. Globally, studies show that women experience a significant drop in income after divorce. See our article Divorce in later life. This is especially acute in South Africa, where women are overrepresented in low-paying, informal or precarious forms of employment. Domestic workers, retail assistants, early childhood educators and caregivers are all roles that are essential in society but poorly paid, offering little in the way of financial benefits or security.

If a woman has spent years raising children and running a household, she may exit the marriage with limited earning capacity, no pension savings and few assets in her own name. Her economic resilience is then not only expected but presumed – by her family, by society, and often by the woman herself. Meanwhile her former partner enjoys financial security built on a foundation of her unpaid labour. Whatever financial settlement, possibly including maintenance, she secures in the divorce process, evidence shows that she will be worse off after the divorce than her former husband. Which brings us to…

Maintenance: a promise often broken

In law, spousal maintenance exists to provide financial support to a former spouse if they are not able to support their own needs immediately after the divorce. It is not a guaranteed right and depends on the circumstances of both spouses. See our article Calculating spousal maintenance. Spousal maintenance may be permanent but is more often “rehabilitative”. In other words, a party, usually the wife, who devoted her time and energy to raising the children of the marriage, is afforded support to retrain or bring existing skills up to speed after a career break, with a view to returning to full-time employment. Or maintenance may be provided until the children reach the age of majority, when it is assumed the woman can re-enter the workforce. However, in reality maintenance orders are difficult to enforce. The courts are overloaded and non-compliance is widespread. For many women, the legal process of pursuing unpaid maintenance becomes another burden – emotionally draining and often financially futile.

Without consistent support, women are forced to make impossible choices: between paying rent and school fees, between food and transport, between staying in the formal economy or slipping into informal, unstable work just to get by.

Why resilience shouldn’t be romanticised

This year’s Women’s Day theme encourages us to celebrate resilience. South African women are undoubtedly resilient. The 1956 march in Pretoria to protest the pass laws was an unequivocal demonstration of female resilience. Our women raise families, hold down jobs, run businesses, and carry the emotional and domestic load of our society. But resilience shouldn’t be romanticised. It shouldn’t be the default expectation of a woman simply because she is a woman.

We need justice, not resilience

Resilience is admirable but exhausting. And it doesn’t move the dial. In fact, it just encourages us to accept the status quo, because “she can handle it”. Justice, on the other hand, means equitable access to legal support. It means maintenance orders that are respected and enforced. It means recognising the economic value of care work and designing divorce settlements that reflect the value in financial terms. It means accessible, affordable childcare, fair labour laws, and real support for re-entering the workforce after years of domestic responsibility.

The lawyer’s role in economic recovery

As family lawyers, we know all too well the social and financial realities of divorce. We know that, for many women, legal representation is the first step toward rebuilding their lives. But legal outcomes don’t exist in a vacuum. The law must be accompanied by compassion, strategy and advocacy, particularly for clients with limited means or lower levels of financial literacy. Part of building a resilient economy is ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender, has the legal tools and protection they need to recover from one of life’s biggest upheavals and transition to a new life.

This Women’s Day 2025, we honour the strength of South African women. But more than that, we double down on our commitment to justice for women. Justice is not just a word; it is what we practise every day as a law firm dedicated to fairness, empathy and dignity.

SD Law – Simon Dippenaar & Associates Inc.

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