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Nisha Rao, 28-year-old, has the honor of becoming the first transgender lawyer of Pakistan, breaking stereotypes.
Nisha Rao has battled discrimination and disadvantage to practice law in Pakistan. Despite laws recognizing transgender people as equal citizens, her journey to get where she is now hasn’t been easy.
Talking to M.M News, Pakistan’s first transgender lawyer narrates her journey to fulfill her dreams which were riddled with discrimination, humiliation, and insensitivity.
MM News: Where are you from? And what difficulties you faced in beginning?
Nisha Rao: I belong to Lahore but later fled to Karachi to escape the physical abuse of my family after her matriculation. My father slapped me, took me to various dargahs and priests to exorcise the djinn that he thought had possessed me and wasted a lot of money in the process. At school, children used to call me Rima Sharmili and I used to cry a lot.
MM News: When you realized about your identity?
Nisha Rao: I realized about her identity when I reached ninth grade. God had made her different. I felt depressed at first but motivated myself with positive thoughts. I have always had feminine habits. I used to sit in the madrassa with the girls and recite the Qur’an.
MM News: Your law education? And how many cases have you won?
Nisha Rao: One of my teachers motivated me to pursue law for the voice to be heard. Later, I got admission in Sindh Muslim Law College in 2018. Girls were too supportive and they would gift me books and make-up in the third year. So far I have fought more than 50 cases.
MM News: How did you meet the expenses for education?
Nisha Rao: Things weren’t that easy. I had to beg to pay for my education. Initially, I used to beg on signals from 8 a.m till 12 p.m and then take my classes from 2 p.m. onwards.
MM News: What you think should be changed in parenting style?
Nisha Rao: I think the style of parenting should be more talked about and psychological therapies and sessions and talks should be prevalent.
MM News: Do you think change has come?
Nisha Rao: In Pakistan, things have changed a lot since the Transgender Protection Bill was passed in 2018. Most jobs now have a quota for TGs. NGOs have also sprung up to help talented TGs to showcase their skills in different fields from singing to stitching. Most importantly, though, hat smug look on the streets has diminished. Humanity is being normalised
