It will be a time to salute the ordinary women who have made leaps in their daily lives – be it in business, politics, unionism, sport, culture and other endeavours. But when it comes to national days, there is always a tendency to put a dampener on the celebrations. You will hear voices proclaim that there is nothing to celebrate when women bear the brunt of poverty, when the scourge of violence against women and girls is still so rampant and when patriarchy still creates barriers for equal participation in most spheres of life.