Padma Lakshmi Becomes Kerala's First Transgender Lawyer, Enrolls In Bar Council

"Becoming the first is always the hardest achievement in history," wrote Kerala's Industries Minister P Rajeev in an Instagram post.

(Photo: Instagram/Altered by The Quint)

Padma Lakshmi became Kerala's first transgender woman to be enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council on Sunday, 19 March.

An Ernakulam Government Law College graduate, Lakshmi was among the 1,500 law graduates who got enrolled during the ceremony.

In an Instagram post, Kerala's Industries Minister P Rajeev shared a photograph of the lawyer, writing:

"Congratulations to Padma Lakshmi who overcame all the hurdles of life and enrolled as the first transgender advocate in Kerala. Becoming the first is always the hardest achievement in history. There are no predecessors on the way to the goal. Obstacles will be inevitable. There will be people to mute and discourage. Padma Lakshmi has written her name in the legal history by overcoming all this."

In 2017, Joyita Mondal had become the first transgender woman to be appointed as judge, when she took oath in the Lok Adalat of Islampur in West Bengal. In 2018, Vidya Kamble was appointed to the Lok Adalat in Maharashtra.