Meet Padma Lakshmi, the first transgender lawyer of Kerala
On March 19, 1,500 law students were sworn in as lawyers to the Bar Council of Kerala. Among the students, the first to enroll was Padma Lakshmi, 27, a trans woman from Kochi.
She scripted history that day by becoming the first transgender lawyer in the state.
Padma Lakshmi, a physics graduate, has lived many lives before this.
In a conversation with TNIE Online, she shared the challenges she faced to reach where she is today.
A great responsibility
Lakshmi says that as a trans person, she feels proud but at the same time, she also feels she has been given a great responsibility, both as a lawyer and as a member of the transgender community. "I know I have a lot to do and I am really proud to be a trans woman and a lawyer. I am well aware of the duties I am entrusted to in both roles."
Padma's enrollment has garnered attention from various corners of society.
Law Minister of Kerala P Rajeev posted about her achievements on his social media. "Congratulations to Padma Lakshmi who overcame all the difficulties in her life and enrolled as the first transgender lawyer in Kerala. Being the first is still a tough feat in history. There are no predecessors on the way to the goal. There will be many obstacles. There will be people to silence and push back. Surviving all this, Padma Lakshmi has written her own name in legal history." he wrote.
Lakshmi's story has inspired many people.
"Recently, a man called me. He says he read my interviews. He told me that his daughter is like me and that he was confused and uncomfortable at first when he found out because he didn't know. Now, after reading my interviews, he has an idea. He says he wants his daughter to be like me, he wants her to create history one day. That made me happy. To give someone hope...a dream - that there is change" Lakshmi says.
Lakshmi is regularly contacted by college students and academicians not just to express their solidarity with the transgender community but to let them know that they are willing to help students from the community.
"For other lawyers, they are one in a million, not for me"
Lakshmi finds it easy to empathise with transgender clients who approach her with cases related to abuse. Even more so than other lawyers. "I am not saying that the other lawyers are not capable of understanding them. It's just easy for me since I am a part of that community, too," Padma Lakshmi says.
Padma Lakshmi also adds, "The transgender community has always been an exploited and abused group of people. It is easier for them to explain what they are going through to me since I have similar experiences".
Support from government, criticism from society
Coming from Kerala, a state that has been at the forefront of transgender community rights in India, Lakshmi also has her opinions about what the government has been doing for the community.
"I don't feel like we are invisible before the government. If that was the case then P Rajeev, Minister for Law, and Dr R Bindu, Minister for Social Justice, would not have been a part of my joy and congratulated me. Minister Rajeev, as the minister for Law, helped me with things related to my enrollment, all within the law. Avaru njangale kaanaan shramikkunathu kondale (All this is because they are trying to see us (transpersons)," she says.
Lakshmi pointed out cases like that of Adam Harry, the first Indian trans pilot, who secured a commercial pilot license with financial support from the Kerala government back in 2019. "As far as I know, Kudumbasree Mission and Greater Cochin Development Authority are planning to open a shelter for transgender persons," Lakshmi says.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi has a different opinion when it comes to how people behave around trans people. "People often say they are progressive but most of the time they are poisonous. I have come across such people in my life far too many times" Lakshmi tells TNIE.
Having said that, she adds, " I am not saying that everyone out there is like that. I also know people who are so welcoming and friendly. Society is mixed and complex. We can't put everyone under just one category. Recently, I have come across a group who claim that gender dysphoria is a disease and that the LGBTQIA+ community should be given therapy. These types of people will mislead society. So, we won't generalise society based on their behaviour towards the transgender and LGBTQIA+ communities."
"Job is a right, not a favour"
Lakshmi has always known that she will be discriminated for her gender. However, coming from the so-called progressive people made her realise how the legal community and others thought they were doing her a favour. "They sounded like they were doing me a favour by giving me charity. That day I said, a job is a right, not a favour. For someone like me, a job is the most important thing to do. Because people expect us to fail. I know people who are graduates, people with MBAs who fail to find any job only because they are transpersons."
Self-discovery & transformation
Lakshmi's path to finding herself was not much different from the stories of other transgender people.
"I was a reclusive kid growing up. Whenever people asked me anything, I would always answer yes or no and run away. Most people thought my parents had only my sisters, not me," she says.
"When I was a kid, I didn't know about the word 'transgender'. I just knew I am a woman. Whenever I had free time, I loved dressing up and putting on makeup". she recounts.
"When I was in Class 6, I started feeling like I shouldn't do this. Because that's what society taught me. It's the society that defines gender, and they decide what each gender should do. So, I told myself to follow those instructions. But, I couldn't put that facade up for long. It's not just society... there was this one report on this newspaper back then which said behaving the way I did... being like me ... they said it's a sexual perversion. I was sad," she says.
Lakshmi realized the real meaning of her gender identity once she could access the Internet when she was in Class 10.
"When I first got access to the Internet, I searched 'how to become a woman'. That's when I first learned the word 'transgender'. I realized I have to get surgery and hormone treatment. I knew that was just the first step. I wasn't ready to become who I am on the inside fearing what others might think. That's why I chose science in Class 11 so people would not tease me. Science is a tough stream. Students would be too busy studying to make comments about me. I did the same when it came to college but I had to face some comments there," says Lakshmi.
Throughout her college years, she had to let the snide comments pass. It was then that she realized she had to get a job to stand on her own in society.
"I became very career-oriented. I faced challenges everywhere I went. But one thing I realized during that time was that every challenge and failure is a stepping stone towards our success." she says.
Padma Lakshmi's journey became more meaningful when she met Dr Mariamma AK, a professor from Government Law College, Ernakulam.
"My only friend back there in Law College was my Mariamma Miss. Whenever I talked to her, I felt safe. She was like my safe space there," says Lakshmi.
However, Lakshmi was not bold enough to come out to her Professor in person. She sent her a message through WhatsApp revealing her gender identity.
Her professor promised her guidance and support.
Dr Mariamma's husband, advocate Anil Kumar, who is currently practising at the Supreme Court, helped Lakshmi with changing her details on documents. Lakshmi also practiced under the advocate for a while.
She also mentions her gratitude to eminent lawyer Indira Jaising who tweeted that Lakshmi was looking for a job in Kerala.
Supportive parents
Being abandoned by parents and family is not something unknown to the transgender community. However, Lakshmi's story is a different one. Even though she never told her parents about her gender-affirming treatments, they were catching on to what was going on.
"They knew everything, and I had no idea about it. My parents knew me so well. I still remember it was during my exams when my father called me by Padma Lakshmi instead of my birth name. I was shocked. He just told me to write my exams well. Later, he told me we will go for counselling. I thought maybe they will take me to some conversion therapy centres," she recounts.
All of her worries went away when her father said during the counselling session that he accepted her as she was. Lakshmi has received parental support since then.
'Voice of the unheard'
Lakshmi says her priority would not just be limited to the members of the transgender community and the problems faced by them. She wants to be the voice of everyone who is unheard.
"I want to address the cases related to the violation of constitutional rights. Like the recent lynching of the Dalit man that happened here in Kerala. I want to appear in the court for such victims. Recently, I appeared in court for an acid victim in Alappuzha. The victim got compensation. I am happy that I got to help someone even if it's a small one," Lakshmi exclaims.