Gender, Sexuality and Law in India – Notes from Lawyering, Advocacy and Activism, with Gowthaman Ranganathan

Join us for a spotlight on the work of LLM Candidate and Rapoport Center Human Rights Scholar, Gowthaman Ranganathan. Gowthaman will share some of his experiences working on gender and sexuality in India including the constitutional challenge to the anti-sodomy law and the rights of transgender persons. Lunch will be provided.

Gowthaman Ranganathan is a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellow from India. He is pursuing an LLM in Human Rights and Comparative Constitutional Law at The University of Texas School of Law. In India, he has worked with the Alternative Law Forum, Bengaluru; the Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad; and the office of Advocate Sudha Ramalingam at Chennai. He has assisted and represented survivors of domestic violence, LGBT persons, and sex workers at various forums in Bengaluru and Chennai. He has worked extensively on the rights of transgender persons and on advocacy and litigation to decriminalize homosexuality in India. His current work is at the intersection of human rights, inequality, mental health and marginalization.

He holds an undergraduate degree from the National Law School, Bengaluru and an LLM in law and development from the Azim Premji University. He has also taught at the National Law University at Jodhpur and Delhi where he facilitated an undergraduate course on Law, Society and Social Justice Lawyering; and Law and Justice for postgraduate students.

He loves cycling, poetry and cats.