“VUT marks Women’s Day 2025 with a day of fitness, learning, and sisterhood, celebrating women’s leadership, resilience, and growth across the university.”
11 August 2025 | Story By: : Nontobeko Moimane | Picture: Keitumetse Mokgope
3 minutes read time.
The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) marked this year’s Women’s Day with a vibrant celebration under the theme Empowered to Lead, Inspired to Grow on Friday, 8 August 2025, at the VUT Isak Steyl Stadium-Cricket Club House. The event brought together women from across the university to honour their strength, resilience and invaluable contributions to VUT’s success.
Programme Director Ms Kimberly Kempkes opened the day by highlighting the importance of recognising women’s leadership and creating opportunities for growth. She noted that the programme balanced physical activity, practical learning, entertainment and reflection. Emphasising the word of the day, Imbokodo, she explained that it symbolises resilience and strength.
The morning began with a lively fun run, where the first 60 finishers received medals and the top 20 were awarded Planet Fitness medals and vouchers. The run was followed by aerobics and an engaging self-defence training session hosted by Planet Fitness, aimed at equipping participants with practical safety skills while boosting confidence.
Critical issues were addressed through impactful talks, starting with a gender-based violence awareness session led by SAPS Sergeant Emily Morake. She stressed the importance of swift response in emergencies and introduced an innovative safety app that allows police and health personnel to quickly locate and assist individuals in distress.
This was followed by Mx Reggie Modiba from the Gauteng Department of Community Safety and Social Development, who shared practical safety tips and encouraged participants to embrace the app as part of their personal safety toolkit. She emphasised that technology can be a vital partner in protecting oneself and ensuring help arrives when it is needed most.
Both speakers reinforced that safety is a shared responsibility and that empowering women with knowledge and tools is key to reducing vulnerability and increasing confidence.
Participants described the celebration as a powerful reminder of the importance of caring for one’s health, both physically and mentally, as an act of empowerment. Many valued the gender-based violence awareness session, noting the importance of knowing their rights and having tools to protect themselves. Others highlighted the fun run and aerobics as positive, unifying activities that left them feeling energised and inspired.
The day concluded with a soul session over lunch, where women connected in an atmosphere of inspiration and sisterhood.
Several partners supported the event, including Campus Clinic, the Gauteng Department of Community Safety and Social Development, Metropolitan Life, Planet Fitness, Sanlam, Standard Bank, the VUT Department of Social Justice and Transformation, VUT Protection Services Department, VUT Sports Department, VUT Administrators Forum and National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
The VUT Women’s Day 2025 celebration not only recognised the achievements of women within the university but also reinforced the message that empowerment, safety and personal growth are essential pillars of a thriving academic community.