Meet Padma Lakshmi; Kerala’s first transgender lawyer

Padma Lakshmi, a transwoman in Kerala, has been enrolled into the state’s Bar Council as an advocate. She was included in the council at a ceremony of March 19, 2023. Lakshmi was among 1,500 law graduates who were inducted in the ceremony.

Kerala’s Industries Minister P Rajeev shared a congratulatory post dedicated to Lakshmi on his official Instagram account:

The minister praised Lakshmi and wrote, "Congratulations to Padmalakshmi 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, Padmalakshmi has written her own name in legal history."

The minister also hoped that her journey will inspire many for her community to join advocacy. Many Instagram users congratulated Padma Lakshmi, after the post was shared by the minister in Malayalam.

As per reports, she was enrolled in Ernakulam Government Law College for LLB. Before this she completed her graduation in Physics.

Earlier in 2017, the country got its first transgender judge, Joyita Mondal in the Lok Adalat in West Bengal‘s Islampur. In 2018, transgender activist Vidya Kamble was named a member judge in the Lok Adalat in Maharashtra’s Nagpur. The same year, Swati Bidhan Baruah, who hailed from Assam, became the third transgender judge in the country.