Padma Lakshmi is the first transgender woman to register as an advocate with the Kerala Bar Council. She hopes to pass the judicial service in the future. Being the first transgender attorney in Kerala, she chose this field to speak up for the voiceless. P Rajeev, Kerala’s Minister for Industries and Law, posted a photo of Lakshmi on his Instagram account and congratulated her for defying all odds to become the state’s first transgender attorney. He wrote in his post that Padma Lakshmi’s accomplishment had cemented her place in legal history.
Early Life
Lakshmi, a woman who self-identifies as such, graduated from the Government Law College in Ernakulam in 2022 after a three-year program that she found extremely interesting. She continued by saying that her professors were helpful throughout.
She graduated from Bharata Mata College in Ernakulam with a BSc in Physics before pursuing a legal education. Lakshmi’s parents and siblings have been her faithful supporters and inspirations throughout her life. She is the youngest of three sisters. She added that they were both very accepting when she came out to her parents—her mother, a clerk for an advocate, and her father, a government employee. She also mentioned that her senior advocate, K.V. Bhadra Kumari, and other attorneys at the Kerala High Court gave her the same kind of support.
Career Choice
Lakshmi asserted that discrimination against transgender people exists in every aspect of society and that it can only be eliminated through the passage of strict laws and their effective enforcement. To pay for her medical and educational expenses, she also worked as an agent for a private insurance company and LIC and provided home tutoring. Lakshmi earned her degree in physics. She enrolled at Ernakulam Government Law College to pursue an LLB after earning her degree in physics. She just finished it, and the advocate community has accepted her. The judicial service tests are what she wants to attempt next.
Trans people in the Legal Community
Even though Padma Lakshmi is the first transgender attorney from the trans community, numerous other trans people are lawyers in India. In 2017, Joyita Mondal was appointed a judge in the Lok Adalat of Islamapur, West Bengal. She became the first transgender person to hold the position in India. 2018 saw the appointment of transgender activist Vidya Kamble as a member judge in the Nagpur Lok Adalat. Swati Bidhan Baruah, a Guwahati native, was appointed the third transgender judge in the same year.
Her Advice
His post states, “Being the first is always the hardest achievement in history,” in English translation from Malayalam. The path leading to the goal is devoid of predecessors. There will always be difficulties. There will be individuals to mute and demotivate. Despite everything, Padma Lakshmi has made her mark on legal history. In response to whether she experienced discrimination because she is transgender, she intends to raise her voice for victims of injustice and discrimination.
