29-year-old, Karachi-based, Nisha Rao is the first transgender student in Pakistan to get admission into an MPhil program at Karachi University (KU). She will be studying LLM at the varsity.
Nisha earned an LLB degree from Sindh Muslim Law College in 2018 and also fights a variety of cases, particularly for those who belong to the transgender community.
Read: Nisha Rao: Pakistan’s First Transgender Lawyer Now Fights For Her Community
Rao has had to face discrimination over the years but still, as a lawyer she has managed to appear in approximately 50 cases.
Eventually, her efforts reaped fruit as she was able to get into the varsity for its LLM program. One of the admin members of KU told an online publication that this is the first time the university has extended its programs for transgender students.
The Trans Pride Society, an NGO for the rights of transgender people founded by Rao first announced her admission. They posted the news on Instagram. “A momentous day! Nisha Rao, Founder, and President of Trans Pride Society, was admitted to the University of Karachi for their Master of Laws Program (LLM),” they wrote. “Pictured next to Vice-Chancellor of Karachi University, Professor Dr. Khalid M Iraqi, Nisha is ecstatic for the next step in her journey as Pakistan’s First Transgender Lawyer.”
Rao has not been offered a scholarship to cover her LLM studies, according to the university’s public relations office. At this time, the university does not offer any scholarships specifically for transgender students. Even then, Rao intends to pursue the degree by paying for it herself.
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