Seventy years ago, thousands of South African women marched to the Union Buildings to demand dignity and justice. Marking Women's Month is a reminder of how far South Africa has come but it also challenges us to question what freedom really looks like for a young woman growing up in South Africa today. More young women are completing school, accessing higher education and entering careers that were once out of reach. In South Africa specifically, adolescent girls and young women continue to carry a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections, with nearly 1 000 young women aged 15 to 24 acquiring HIV every week, according to the 2024 Thembisa HIV Model. Young women are also more likely to experience gender-based violence.