On 25 February 2006, Kenyan-born Biko Beauttah arrived in Canada to seek asylum because being considered homosexual is a criminal offence in her home country. Biko left Kenya a few years prior to attend college in the USA. Having come from a background where her entire being was against the law, and where there was no language or terms around non-heterosexual and non-cisgender sexuality or gender, Biko only realised while studying in America that she identified as transgender and not gay.
Fearing for her life if she returned to Kenya, she arrived at Toronto’s airport on 25 February 2006. Here she was put in handcuffs and detained by officials who humiliated her for 36 hours before she was granted asylum in Canada. She spent a further 6 months in a refugee shelter before a landlord agreed to rent an apartment to her.
After Biko received asylum, she became a human rights activist championing the rights of trans people. Some of her achievements include being the founder of Trans Workforce in 2014, the world’s first job fair aimed at creating work opportunities for people who identify as trans or gender nonconforming, and becoming a board member of The 519 in 2015, a Toronto-based agency serving the trans community of Toronto by assisting with refugees, counselling, and training. Asked in an interview why she became an activist, Biko answered:
“I like to think that I have always been a compassionate person. However, it wasn’t until I became a refugee and also transitioned that I became aware of all the routine humiliations that marginalized and displaced people face. It’s our society’s dirty little secret that we like to sweep under the rug. I am not a dirty secret, and neither are others like me; I refuse to be swept under the rug. In the fight for my dignity, others will benefit as well because it is not just for me, but for all our dignity and humanity that I fight. It’s my fuel.”
A champion of refugee and sexual minority rights, she has spread her message of tolerance and equality through various platforms such as the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Refugee Pride Convention. Biko was also the first person to give a lecture on gender studies upon the inception of such a course at a high school in Canada. At George Brown, Biko also served as the Women and Trans Persons representative, bridging the gap between her constituents, the college administration, and the Student Association. Through the Student Union, Biko was also part of a panel to discuss issues faced by racialised students, and sexual minorities on college campuses at The Canadian Federation of Students Convention. She was also the first queer person of African descent to open the Toronto Stock Exchange.
One of the highlights in Biko’s personal life was her appearance on ‘America’s Next Top Model’, as part of the Tyra Banks Show, in itself raising awareness of trans equality and tolerance.
Interviews with Biko:
