Shash Appan

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Shash Appan
Shash Appan.jpg
BornAugust 1996 (age 28)
Known forLGBT+ and anti-racism activism
Website itsshash.com

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. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] She has also advocated for tenant rights, co-founding a website for tenants in Cardiff to anonymously rate their landlords. [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Appan is of Indian descent, [7] 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. [8] After a period of homelessness, Appan received an offer to study computer science at Cardiff Metropolitan University and moved to the city. [8] [9]

Activism

In 2020, she organised several protests in Cardiff calling for reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. [10] [11]

In March 2021, she raised concerns about a hustings held online by the Youth Cymru charity in which Plaid Cymru MS Helen Mary Jones 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. [12] In August 2021, she was named to Wales Online's Pinc List of the most influential LGBT+ people in Wales. [13] [14]

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. [15] [16] In June 2022, she gave a speech at a PinkNews reception held at the National Museum Cardiff 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 policy". [17] [18] [19]

References

  1. ↑ Ali, Joseph (8 March 2022). "International Women's Day 2022: A day in the life of an LGBT+ activist". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "#TransDayofVisibility 2021: Shash's story". 2021-03-30. Archived from the original on 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  3. ↑ "What does Black Lives Matter look like in Scotland, Ireland and Wales?". 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "Census 2021: England and Wales gender question 'a good first step'". BBC News. 14 February 2021. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Ali, Joseph (2022-03-08). "'People aren't born evil... I want to change things for the better'". Wales Online. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  6. ↑ "TV show prompts launch of landlord rating website… but will it get any reviews? – LandlordZONE". Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  7. ↑ @transaidcymru (February 15, 2021). "Next up we have Shash Appan running an empowering trans POC workshop! Shash is an Indian trans woman who has worked with the Welsh Goverment [sic], Stonewall and Galdem! She's creating a safe space for trans POC to talk about their experiences ✊🏾💙" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. 1 2 ILGA-Europe (2021-03-28). "#TransDayofVisibility 2021: Shash's story". Medium. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  9. ↑ "The Indian transgender woman who used her own struggles to help others".
  10. ↑ "Five inspirational women in Wales you really need to know about". 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Two activists making a difference in Wales during lockdown". 14 July 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Plaid MS denies transphobia after candidate Owen Hurcum quits". BBC News. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Mosalski, Ruth (22 August 2021). "Pinc List 2021: Wales' most influential LGBT+ people". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  14. ↑ Ali, Joseph (29 April 2021). "Lesbian Visibility Week: Some of Wales' most influential gay women". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Auskerry, Hamish (26 April 2022). "Activists take to Cardiff to protest UK government refusal to ban trans conversion therapy". ITV News. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Taylor, Ivy (30 April 2022). ""Torture Won't Fix Me. I'm Not Broken" – Trans Rights Activists Send Message Of Resistance To UK Government In Cardiff". voice.wales. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  17. ↑ "Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price recalls wanting to end his own life in 1990s". ITV News. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  18. ↑ Milton, Josh (14 June 2022). "Plaid Cymru's gay leader Adam Price on attempt to take own life: 'I couldn't find a way out'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  19. ↑ Ferreira, Lou (10 June 2022). "MPs will debate a ban on trans 'conversion therapy'. Here's what to expect". openDemocracy. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
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