Born: 18 September 1924, South Africa
Died: 2008
Country most active: Mauritius
Also known as: Tamil: ராதா பொன்னுசாமி படையாச்சி, Radha Padayachee
Radha Poonoosamy was a Mauritian politician who served as the country’s first female cabinet minister and was a member of the executive committee of the African National Congress (ANC). She was also an activist, campaigning for women’s rights and against apartheid and anti-Indian discrimination in her home country of South Africa. She continued her activism after moving to Mauritius in 1952, and was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1975. She was appointed the inaugural minister in charge of the newly formed Ministry of Women’s Affairs, a role in which she helped passed laws against gender discrimination.