“A woman is a very special person in God’s creation, may it be a friend, a mother, a wife, a sister or partner in Christ.” (Anon)

As we celebrate Women’s Day in South Africa, we give thanks to God for the countless women whose faith, courage, compassion, and perseverance have shaped our families, churches, and communities. We remember the women of 1956 who stood with dignity and determination against injustice, reminding us that courage rooted in conviction can change history.

The Bible honours women who trusted God and served others—women such as Ruth, Esther, Mary, and Priscilla. Their lives remind us that God’s love and calling are for all people, and that each person is created in His image with unique gifts and purpose.

Today we pray for the women of our nation: for wives, mothers and daughters, grandmothers and sisters, teachers, carers, leaders, and those who quietly serve behind the scenes. May God strengthen those who face hardship, protect those who are vulnerable, and inspire all of us to uphold the dignity, equality, and worth of every woman. May we reflect Christ’s love by honouring, encouraging, and serving one another in His name.

We give thanks for the influence for good the women in our lives have on us, for their courage in standing up for what they believe in, for the role of women’s organisations doing charity work among the disadvantaged and especially, for the women in our own church, quietly doing so much in caring for the needy in our own community.

We pray for the young girls kidnapped, for ransom, as child brides or prostitution and for their parents, for the mothers in refugee camps, as they try to find food to feed their families, for unwed mothers, rejected by their families as they try to care for their babies and for women throughout the world, that they may take their rightful place in society.