Who Is Tasmida Johar? First Rohingya Muslim Girl Graduate From India

Tasmida Johar, the first Rohingya Muslim girl to graduate in India has made the headlines for her accomplishment in being able to secure a degree. She is the first from her community in India to be able to complete graduation, as per a report.

First Rohingya Muslim Girl Graduate From India

According to Al Jazeera report, Tasmida Johar faced discrimination within her own community for pursuing education as it seemed a long list dream for the Rohingya. However, she had supportive parents who encouraged her educational goals. Today Tasmida, a political science graduate, dreams of representing her community at the International Court of Justice. Many women from her community have drawn inspiration from her.

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority hailing from Myanmar. The Rohingya come from the Buddhist Myanmar region. The population of Rohingya is 1.1 million in Myanmar. They are a persecuted community. They have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982. Therefore, they are stateless, discriminated against, and seek shelter in other neighbouring countries closest of which are Bangladesh and India.

Fleeing their home country was not easy for the Rohingya. A lot of them were arrested or detained. Only some of them succeeded in fleeing to another country. Not all nations are signatories to the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Therefore, these nations do not have refugee policies. It is under these circumstances that Tasmida Johar's parents fled to India (a non-signatory nation) in their car.

When the first citizenship act was passed post-partition after separation from the British regime, the Rohingya were not included in the citizenship act. Only Rohingya families who stayed in for two generations in Myanmar could apply for citizenship. The ethnic group was given a temporary foreign identity card. The 1982 new citizenship law did not amend itself to include the Rohingya.

To prove themselves a citizen as per the 1982 citizenship act, Rohingya Muslims needed to speak a national language fluently and possess paperwork that proved their family lived in Myanmar before 1948. The aforementioned were not readily available and were often denied to them.

Along with their citizenship rights of education, marriage, work, religion, and others being denied they also suffered persecution at the hands of the ethnic majority. They were raped, murdered tortured, and suffered human rights abuses and ethnic cleansing of their community.

Tasmida Johar's graduation becomes important given the living conditions and everything they faced. Johar's graduation is hope of light and will inspire and empower, millions like her who have been suffering because of society and their conventional beliefs

Also Read: Maldives Hires Amal Clooney To Represent Rohingya At UN