Pakistan's first transgender lawyer goes from begging to fighting in court

Lawyer Nisha Rao's story is an inspiring one. 28-year-old Rao, who is based in Karachi has crossed several hurdles to become Pakistan first transgender lawyer. Treated as outcasts in the conservative society of Pakistan, many transgender persons are victims of sexual assault and often resort to work as wedding dancers or beg to earn a living.


Rao, who ran away from her middle-class home in Lahore at age 18, ended up begging on the streets with two other transgender persons. When she arrived in Karachi, the older transgender people she sought refuge with advised her to become a sex worker.
Rao, who has so far dealt with 50 cases for her community and others, used to beg to pay for her education.
"I am proud to have become Pakistan first transgender lawyer", Rao told Reuters. Transgenders were allowed to claim an identity as the third gender on their national identity cards in 2009. In 2018, the Pakistani Parliament passed a law recognising transgender people as an equal citizen and protecting them from discrimination and violence.

Rao gained her law license earlier this year and joined the Karachi Bar Association. "Rao used to beg here along with us, today she is better than many. But she still helps us, she even responds at midnight (if we contact her)," said Nayab, a transgender beggar told Reuters. Rao, who has seen the police mistreat transgenders one day hopes to be Pakistan's first transgender judge. Rao, who received her law degree from Sindh Muslim Law College in 2018, said the thought that the police would be scared of her after she became a lawyer is what inspired her to choose this career path.
Rao said she always effeminate. Born as a male, she realised and came to terms with her being a girl in ninth grade.