Kerala on Sunday (March 19) got its first transgender lawyer after Padma Lakshmi, a student of Ernakulam Government Law College, was enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of the state.
Padma Lakshmi was reportedly among the 1,500 law graduates who were given their Bar enrolment certificates at an event organized by the Bar Council of India on Sunday.
Sharing a photo of Padma Lakshmi along with a congratulatory post on Instagram, state industries minister P Rajeev praised her for charting her own territory despite facing obstacles from society.
“Congratulations to Padma Lakshmi who overcame all hurdles in life and enrolled as the first transgender advocate in Kerala. Becoming the first is always the hardest achievement in history. There are no one to show you the way. There will be obstacles on the way. People will try to silence and discourage you. Padma Lakshmi has written her name in legal history by overcoming all this,” Rajeeev posted.
The minister said Padma Lakshmi’s achievement should inspire many others from the transgender community to pursue careers in the judiciary.
In 2017, Joyita Mondal, became the first transgender judge in the country after being appointed as a judge in the Lok Adalat of Islampur in West Bengal. In 2018, transgender activist Vidya Kamble became a judge in the Lok Adalat of Maharashtra’s Nagpur. The same year Guwahati’s Swati Bidhan was appointed as a judge.