Chikunga wants business and municipalities to carry disability inclusion, not just her department
The Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities opened Disability Rights Awareness Month with a call for coordinated partnerships across government, business and civil society.
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has called for stronger partnerships across government, business and civil society to advance the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities, opening Disability Rights Awareness Month with a demand for coordinated action rather than what she described as fragmented interventions.
The month runs from 3 November to 3 December 2026 under the theme “Creating Strategic Multisectoral Partnerships for a Disability Inclusive Society”. According to the official account, it provides an opportunity to assess progress on disability rights, address persistent inequalities and strengthen efforts to ensure persons with disabilities enjoy constitutional rights, dignity and equal opportunities.
Chikunga said the 2026 theme calls for a shift away from isolated interventions towards partnerships that turn policy commitments into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
“Creating a disability-inclusive society requires more than government policies and programmes. It requires all sectors of society to take responsibility for removing barriers, challenging discrimination, and creating opportunities for persons with disabilities,” she said.
“We must move from isolated interventions to strategic partnerships that deliver sustainable and measurable change.”
The instruction to the state is specific. Chikunga called on government departments, municipalities and public institutions to integrate disability considerations into planning, budgeting, procurement, infrastructure development and service delivery. The private sector, she said, can advance economic inclusion through inclusive employment, skills development, entrepreneurship, accessible workplaces and meaningful economic opportunities. Civil society, organisations of persons with disabilities, traditional and community leaders, and higher education institutions also have a role, through advocacy, research, innovation, public education and monitoring.
South Africa’s disability rights agenda is guided by the Constitution, the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The official account says these frameworks commit the country to promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities while removing structural, institutional, environmental and attitudinal barriers that limit their full participation in society.
The month’s focus areas are inclusive education and skills, including assistive technology and lifelong learning, economic empowerment and employment, accessibility and universal design across buildings, transport, communications and digital services, healthcare and social protection, safety and justice, participation and representation in decision-making, and gender-responsive inclusion.
Chikunga also stressed the heightened risks of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, abuse and exclusion faced by women and girls with disabilities.
“Women and girls with disabilities must never be invisible in our efforts to advance gender equality and eliminate gender-based violence and femicide. Their voices, experiences and leadership must inform the policies, programmes and interventions intended to protect and empower them,” she said.
The observance culminates on 3 December, when South Africa joins the international community in marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Chikunga urged South Africans to move beyond awareness towards practical action.
“Disability inclusion is not an act of charity. It is a constitutional obligation, a human rights imperative, and a shared development responsibility,” she said.
“We must ensure that persons with disabilities are not merely beneficiaries of development, but active participants, leaders and contributors to the growth and prosperity of our country.”
This report is based on the official account published by SAnews (South African Government News Agency) at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/chikunga-calls-stronger-partnerships-advance-disability-rights, which summarises the Minister’s remarks rather than reproducing a full record of them.
