Hundreds of women gathered in cities across South Africa on Friday to protest against gender-based violence in the country before the G20 summit in Johannesburg this weekend.

Demonstrators turned out in 15 locations – including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban – wearing black as a sign of “mourning and resistance”.

They staged a peaceful 15-minute silent lie-down protest, symbolising the 15 lives lost daily to gender-based violence in the country.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest femicide rates, with UN Women estimating that it is five times higher than the global average.

Called the G20 Women’s Shutdown, it was organised by the NGO Women For Change, which urged women and LGBTQ+ communities to “refrain from all paid and unpaid work in workplaces, universiti

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