South Africa has marked a powerful first: Dr Praveena Sukhraj-Ely has become the first totally blind person to lead a national government department, serving as Acting Director-General of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities since her appointment in July.
Speaking to SAnews during Women’s Month, whose 2026 theme is Empowered Women Empower the Nation, Sukhraj-Ely reflected on a milestone she says she never dared to imagine for herself.
“I never knew of a blind person or a person with disability who has occupied this position at a national level. To be trusted with accounts, figures, and to lead the entire national department as a blind person is something that I do not take lightly,” she said.
From Pietermaritzburg classroom to the highest rung of public service
Originally from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, Sukhraj-Ely matriculated in 1995 at the Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind in Pietermaritzburg. She went on to earn four degrees, including a Bachelor of Social Science, a Bachelor of Laws, a Master of Arts in Political Science awarded cum laude, and a PhD in Public Policy from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
A legal practitioner and public policy expert, she has built deep experience in governance, constitutional law, disability rights and public administration. She also serves as the State Representative on the Commission for Employment Equity, where she champions a 7 percent disability employment target for 2030, and she is among the leaders driving the drafting of the Disability Access to Justice Policy.
“Not the exception, but the norm”
While her appointment is a landmark for the disability sector, Sukhraj-Ely is clear that she does not want to be celebrated as a rare exception. She wants talent, qualifications and leadership to open doors for persons with disabilities as a matter of course.
“I want it to become the case that a person who has the potential, qualifications and capabilities must not be discriminated against on the grounds of their disability, but be given the equity and reasonable accommodation based on their diversity and their disability,” she said.
She linked her journey to the generations of South African women who marched before her: “I feel like the women of 1956 who were marching for everyone would be applauding right now.”
Opening doors for others
Sukhraj-Ely hopes her role will encourage other departments to place persons with disabilities in leadership positions, so that the principle of nothing about us without us shapes policy, legislation and implementation from the inside.
For her, the appointment signals that South Africa is beginning to show real confidence in the leadership capabilities that exist within the disability sector, a step she calls “a step in the right direction” on the road to a more inclusive public service.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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