Jowelle De Souza (born May 12, 1974) is a hairdresser and community organizer of
Portuguese descent active in
San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. She is well known for being an activist for
gay and transgender rights and
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
. She is a successful business owner known for being the first
transgender woman
A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and som ...
to sue the government for
harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
. Jowelle de Souza has since become involved in
national politics, championing the revitalization of San Fernando. In February 2022, she was sworn in as the country's first openly trans Senator.
Legal biography
Police arrested De Souza and charged her with assault in March 1997 after she pushed a photographer. She said the photographer knew all about her past and was taking pictures of her without permission. De Souza said that after officer George took her to the police station, he and other male officers taunted her for hours about her sexuality. The men insisted on searching her, even though her identification and appearance indicated she was a woman. They eventually relented but insisted on having a female officer strip-search De Souza. "There was no legal right to search," she said. "I pushed (the photographer). I didn't assault him with a deadly weapon."
De Souza sought legal counsel, and hired prominent lawyers Lynette Maharaj. De Souza won the case and gave her awarded money to charity.
Political career
Early in 2015, Jowelle De Souza became a prominent part of the movement to establish a stronger independent presence in Trinidad and Tobago's political system. In early 2015, she launched her campaign to represent
San Fernando
San Fernando may refer to:
People
*Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia
Places Argentina
*San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
West as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
Member of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. When asked by the ''
Trinidad Express
The ''Trinidad and Tobago Express'', better known as ''Daily Express'' (and the weekend editions ''Saturday Express'' and ''Sunday Express''), is one of three daily newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago. The ''Daily Express'' as per its masthead is p ...
'' about some of her major issues of her platform, she responded, “I believe in equal opportunities for all: the disabled, the senior citizens, single mother, the impoverished.” When asked why she would run as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
De Souza answered, "I want to effectively represent the people without any biases or scenarios where others who may not be on the same page are pulling strings or controlling actions. You see, many people vote party and not person but the reality is you must vote for persons who can impartially assure the well-being of the country." During her campaign, she has also publicly expressed concern for access to labor markets in the Greater San Fernando area and revitalization of its infrastructure and waterfront. Despite the large swell of support De Souza has received in the San Fernando community, her political aspirations have been met with vocal disdain from the religious community in Trinidad and Tobago, whose objections focus primarily on her gender identity.
On February 15, 2022, De Souza became Trinidad and Tobago's first openly trans Senator. She was sworn to fill in for Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial.
Personal life
In 1993, at age 19 she underwent gender confirmation or
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
in Trinidad, the first person in Trinidad to have this surgery. De Souza is an activist for animal rights, and encourages people to care for animals. De Souza was awarded the bronze
Hummingbird Medal
The Hummingbird Medal is a state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago, instituted in 1969. The medal is awarded for loyal and devoted service beneficial to the state in any field, or acts of conspicuous gallantry or other outstanding humane action. Th ...
in 2014 for her work ensuring animal welfare. Additionally, she has been involved in professional development workshops on updating techniques in the hair care industry in Trinidad.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Jowelle De
1974 births
Living people
Transgender women politicians
Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal
Members of the Senate (Trinidad and Tobago)
21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women politicians
21st-century Trinidad and Tobago LGBT people
Trinidad and Tobago LGBT rights activists
Trinidad and Tobago people of Portuguese descent
Trinidad and Tobago transgender people