Shash Appan is a Welsh LGBT+ and anti-racist activist. A co-founder of Trans Aid Cymru, she also serves as a director of the Trans Safety Network. She has also advocated for

tenant rights Tenant may refer to: Real estate *Tenant, the holder of a leasehold estate in real estate *Tenant-in-chief, in feudal land law *Tenement (law), the holder of a legal interest in real estate *Tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a farmer or far ...

, co-founding a website for tenants in Cardiff to anonymously rate their landlords.

Early life and education

Appan is of Indian descent, and grew up in Birmingham. She came out to her parents at the age of 18 but they were not accepting. After she made a suicide attempt they had her sectioned, then sent her to live in isolation with her grandparents in India for two years, before persuading them to let her return to Britain. After a period of homelessness, Appan received an offer to study computer science at

Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff Metropolitan University () is a public university located in Cardiff, Wales. Formerly known as the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC; , ) which was established in 1996. The university offers degree courses in a variety of d ...

and moved to the city.

Activism

In 2020, she organised several protests in Cardiff calling for reform of the

Gender Recognition Act 2004 The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows adults in the United Kingdom who have gender dysphoria to change their legal sex. It came into effect on 4 April 2005. Background The act was dr ...

. In March 2021, she raised concerns about a hustings held online by the Youth Cymru charity in which Plaid Cymru MS

Helen Mary Jones Helen Mary Jones (born 29 June 1960) is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from 2018 to 2021. Background Jones was born in Colchester, Essex. She was educated at Colchester County High Sc ...

was invited to speak, despites Jones having repeatedly made controversial comments about transgender people. After attempting to raise concerns, she was subsequently kicked out of the hustings after displaying the trans pride flag in her profile picture. The controversy led to the resignations of two of the charity's trustees. In August 2021, she was named to

Wales Online Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd. History The ''Western Mail'' was fou ...

's Pinc List of the most influential LGBT+ people in Wales. In April 2022, she gave a speech at a protest held by Trans Aid Cymru in front of the Tŷ William Morgan - William Morgan House calling for a ban on conversion therapy and talking about her experience as a survivor of conversion therapy. In June 2022, she gave a speech at a

PinkNews ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community (LGBTQ+) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in July 2005, initially released in print, b ...

reception held at the

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff (), formerly known as the National Museum of Wales, is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Wel ...

in which she condemned British politicians, some of whom where in attendance, for stoking transphobia within British society, saying in particular that "transphobia is essentially

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

policy".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appan, Shash Living people Transgender rights activists 1996 births Welsh people of Indian descent Welsh people with disabilities