Josefina Fernández - La Berkins: Una combatiente de frontera

2020, Argentina, Josefina Fernández, Lohana Berkins, Spanish,

Original title: "La Berkins: Una combatiente de frontera" by Josefina Fernández.

The book is a unique biography of Lohana Berkins, a transgender activist and advocate of the rights of the LGBT community in Argentina and Latin America. She died on 5 February 2016, so she was not able to see her biography published.

Born in a small town in Salta, Lohana was expelled from the family home when she was very young and forced to practice prostitution to survive. She learned to walk on the border. At the end of the 80s, she settled in Buenos Aires and had to deal with ruffians, petty offenders, and the police. She fell in love and, fighting for the repeal of police edicts, became a unique leader whose main battle was the right to her own identity. She embraced feminism and was the first transgender woman in Argentina to get a job in accordance with the Labour code.

Lohana Berkins (15 June 1965 – 5 February 2016) was an Argentine travesti activist who made significant contributions to the fight for transgender and travesti rights. Berkins was born on June 15, 1965, in Pocitos, Salta, Argentina. At the age of 13, her father, a soldier, expelled her from home. In 1994, she founded the Asociación de Lucha por la Identidad Travesti y Transexual (ALITT), an organization dedicated to advocating for the rights and visibility of transgender and travesti individuals.

Berkins played a pivotal role in the adoption of Law 3062, which respected the identity of travestis and transsexuals. This law was approved by the Buenos Aires Legislature in 2009. She was a legislative adviser for the Communist Party in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, becoming the first travesti person with a public job. Berkins also worked as a legislative advisor for Buenos Aires deputy Diana Maffía, focusing on issues related to human rights, guarantees, women, children, and adolescents.

In 2002, Berkins made a powerful demand for the visibility of travestis and trans people by enrolling in Normal School No. 3 to become a teacher. When faced with obstacles related to her name, she filed a complaint with the Ombudsman of the City of Buenos Aires, which led to an order for the school authorities to respect her gender identity. In 2008, Berkins spearheaded the creation of the Nadia Echazú Textile Cooperative, the first cooperative school for travestis and transsexuals. The cooperative was named after Nadia Echazú, a trans activist.

She played a crucial role in the establishment of the National Front for the Gender Identity Law, which advocated for a law guaranteeing the adaptation of personal documents to each person’s gender identity and chosen name. The Gender Identity Law was eventually approved by the Argentine parliament in 2012, making it one of the most progressive laws in the world in this area. Lohana Berkins’s tireless activism and advocacy continue to inspire and impact the lives of many members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Available via Amazon