KARACHI – 28-year-old Nisha Rao crossed several difficulties to become Pakistan first transgender lawyer, Rao has contested at least 50 cases and is working with a non-governmental organisation.
Rao ran away from her middle-class home in Lahore at age 18, ended up begging on the streets with two other accomplices. Standing at traffic lights and begging from car to car but was determined to escape that path, eventually using her income to pay for law classes at night.
She was even proposed to be a sex worker to cover all expenses unlikely other transgenders, she refused to be a part of any prostitution circle.
After several years, she earned a law degree, gaining her law license earlier this year and joining the Karachi Bar Association.
She has so far contested at least 50 cases and is working with a non-governmental organisation fighting for transgender rights in country. Speaking to International news outlet the 28-year-old said I am proud to have become Pakistan first transgender lawyer.
Treated as outcasts, many transgender persons are victims of sexual assault and resort to working as wedding dancers or begging to make a living.
Nisha has even bigger aspirations than becoming an attorney. She said, my goal is to become Pakistan’s first transgender judge.