TIRUCHY: A total of 1,739 students, including the first two transgender women graduates in the college’s history, received their degrees at the convocation ceremony of the Government Law College in Tiruchy on Sunday. Minister for Energy Resources and Law CTR Nirmal Kumar conferred the degrees on the students.
A major highlight of the event was the graduation of two transgender women — Sowmiya Shashu (37) and Joshka Jasmine (30), both from Thanjavur — the first such graduates since the college was established in 1980.
Joshka Jasmine, who has been practising at the Madras High Court for the past two years, said she had initially aspired to become a model but later chose law to serve the transgender community and work towards ensuring equal access to justice. Speaking to TNIE, she said, “We have been demanding horizontal reservation for the past 15 years, and we urge the state government to implement it.”
Sowmiya Shashu, a registered advocate with the Nilgiris District Bar Association, said her immediate goal was to clear the Civil Judge examination before pursuing a PhD in law. That enable her to contribute to a more inclusive justice system and inspire more transgender persons to pursue higher education and careers in the legal sector.