Nisha Rao is a Pakistani

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

lawyer, advocate and activist. In 2020, she became the first transgender law graduate in Pakistan.

Personal life

Rao was born in a middle-class family from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

region, and had seven siblings. During her early years, she was enrolled at a private English medium school in Lahore. At age 14, Nisha realized she was different. She was never beaten by her parents for her feminine habits but she chose to leave her house after completing matric. She moved to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

for a fresh start. In Karachi, she began living with a transgender community in the

Hijrat colony Hijrat Colony ( ur, ھجرت کالونی ) is one of the neighbourhoods of Lyari Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. There are several ethnic groups in Hijrat Colony including Muhajirs, Sindhis, Punjabis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochi ...

. Rao begged on the streets for a time to fund her expenditures. Throughout this time Rao told her family she was being financed independently for school in Karachi but was begging in the streets. She would beg from 8am to 3pm and take law classes from 4 to 9 pm. She earned her bachelor's degree at Karachi University.

Education

Rao is one of the few transgender people in Pakistan who chose to pursue higher education. After completing college, she enrolled in a BA program at Karachi University to specialize in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

. During this time, she befriended an advocate named 'Mudassir Iqbal', who, according to Rao, supported her in pursuing higher education. Nisha then decided to pursue higher studies and was admitted to Sindh Muslim Law College in 2015. The college's former principal, Mustafa Ali Mahesar, supported Nisha in her studies and also gave her private coaching in International Law. Rao graduated in 2018.

Career

Rao began her law career by participating in various advocacy events. She later associated herself with various

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s (NGOs) as a volunteer and a legal adviser. She joined the Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA), which works for the rights of the transgender community. She moved to

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

after she was appointed as treasurer, but she soon had to leave her job due to financial hurdles. Nisha also tutored many children in her area to supplement her income. As a lawyer, Nisha has dealt with over 50 cases regarding the transgender community.

Future plans

Nisha plans to help the transgender community through her NGO. She wants to set up a helpline where transgender people can be guided by other community members. She also has plans to build a transgender old age home in the near future.

References

External links

Nisha Rao interview

Nisha Rao life story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Nisha Living people Pakistani women activists Pakistani lawyers Transgender rights activists Pakistani LGBT rights activists Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistani LGBT lawyers Pakistani transgender women Women civil rights activists