The transsexual lawyer, Giowana Cambrone Araújo, 34 years old, took three years to get her hands on her own OAB card, all after passing the Order's severe test in 2011.
Giowana took the test in Minas Gerais, the state in which she was born, and applied for registration shortly afterwards in Rio de Janeiro, where she lives with her husband. But the request was denied. As a solution, the OAB suggested that she use her civil and social name, but she refused.
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"It would only make sense to advocate with the name that identifies me. There are perhaps two fundamental rights for exercising civil life. The first is the name that individualizes you, which says who you are and brings with it other subjective elements, origin, gender , etc. The other is the right to work, which dignifies and contributes socially", he said.
"It wouldn't make sense to be a lawyer and not be able to have my name and gender identity recognized for the exercise of my profession. The lawyer's role is to promote justice, and by accepting such a condition I would be being unfair to myself", declared Giowana. It took legal action for Giowana to obtain the registration, which only came out at the end of last month. She now practices her profession and also provides legal assistance at the NGO Transrevolucion.
