Radha Poonoosamy (Tamil: ராதா பொன்னுசாமி படையாச்சி) (née Padayachee, 18 September 1924 – January 2008), was a Mauritian politician, the country's first female cabinet minister, and a feminist activist.
She was born Radha Padayachee on 18 September 1924 in Durban, South Africa.
[2] She was educated at the University of Natal, where she was an "outspoken opponent of apartheid", and became a member of the Student Council of the Indian National Congress, which fought against anti-Indian discrimination in South Africa.
[2] She went on to become head of the women's section, and also a member of the executive committee of the African National Congress (ANC).
[2] In 1975, Poonoosamy was elected a Member of Parliament, becoming the country's first female minister, the inaugural minister in charge of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, and helped pass laws against sex discrimination.