While transgender people are considered misfits in society, Karachi’s Nisha Rao has set an example that even discrimination couldn’t stop her from pursuing higher education.
Nisha Rao left her home in Lahore and settled in Karachi, and she had to rely on begging for a living. Over several years, she gathered alms and utilized them to pay for her law school.
She received her legal license and joined the Karachi Bar Association in 2020. She was the first transgender person to be accepted into Karachi University’s M Phil degree in 2021.
Rao is also the first transgender individual to be enrolled in any program at university, as per the university’s Public Relations Office. She aspires to inspire community members. Just recently did one of Pakistan’s most prominent institutions accept applications from members of the transgender community.
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As per Nisha’s discovery of an NGO called Trans Pride Society on Instagram, “This is a historic day! Nisha Rao, the president and founder of Trans Pride Society, has been accepted into the University of Karachi’s Master of Laws (LLM) program“.
Rao aims to motivate members of her community to work hard and stay committed to their objectives, especially if they have encountered adversity in the past, as she did.
The Board of Advanced Studies and Research (BASR) met to assess Rao’s application and ultimately approved to accept her, as per the Pakistani daily Dawn.
Dr. Khalid Iraqi, the Vice-Chancellor of Karachi University, stated that the university has no policies in place to assist trans students. Nonetheless, he stated that they would give ‘institutional support’ to help her in any manner they could.
The university stated that Rao was not eligible for a scholarship since there are no rules in place for persons who identify as transgender. An LLM is a two-year study that is equal to an MPhil degree, according to the Higher Education Commission.