From Braille to Bench: Meet 24-year-old lawyer Thanya, set to become Kerala’s first visually-impaired judge

“My appointment is in process. There will be a one-year training at the Kerala Judicial Academy before being appointed as a magistrate/munsiff,” Thanya tells The Indian Express.

She believes her disability will no longer be a hindrance in her role as a judicial officer— thanks to technology. One such tool is text-to-speech software.

“During my days as a law student, I had to convert study materials into braille. It had been an uphill task. But when I wanted to prepare for the judicial services examination, text-to-speech technology came to my aid. This helped me access several online study materials and documents,” she says.

A student at a special school from Classes 1 to 7, Thanya later shifted to a regular school, where her lessons were converted into Braille.

When she began practising law, her mother, Babitha, a homemaker, would accompany her by bus to court and bring her back home. Her father and elder sister work in the Middle East.

“Initially, I only dreamed of becoming a lawyer. But my family and senior advocate K G Sunil Kumar encouraged me to apply for the post of civil judge when recruitment was notified last year. The bar and bench at Taliparamba have always supported me,” she says.