Our June 2021 Shero of the Month is Sophia Kass of San Francisco, originally from Lebanon. Sophia is a PWN Gender Justice trainer and a 2019-2020 PWN Policy Fellow. As a woman of transgender experience, Sophia lived as an outcast in Lebanon; her future was dim and uncertain. Her gender identity was not accepted. People of trans experience were either “converted,” jailed, or killed. PWN Communications and Training Assistant Tiommi Luckett said, “Sophia is one of the kindest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. We met in 2017 at the Building Leaders of Color (BLOC) training of the trainers, and I knew I had met a sister, ally, and accomplice. Her role at the Transgender Law Center nurtured a sisterhood I couldn’t have imagined and didn’t know I needed.”
Sophia described her life in Lebanon as “buying time in what was a closet within a cage, inside a cage, inside a larger cage with no keys and no means of escape.” The first cage was the strict patriarchal structure her family subscribed to. She was expected to be the model “son” to make her father proud so he could make his father proud. Her second cage was her own body. She had to hide her gender identity with family and be somewhat free at night to live her truth in the clubs. In the underground clubs, Sophia hoped to have her womanhood validated through encounters with men, whom she says reminded her constantly “I wasn’t a woman.” The final cage was the Lebanese government. As a person with HIV, the only way to access life-saving medication for the condition was to register with the Ministry of Health’s HIV/AIDS monitoring program. Stigma from a documented HIV diagnosis forced Sophia deeper into secrecy for fear of losing health coverage and employment.
In the summer of 2014, Sophia was kidnapped leaving a well-known underground LGBT club. All of her secrets came spilling out to her family and government, which prompted interrogations and her being bullied for her gender. Sophia spent years researching how to leave and what resources were available to aid her in leaving Lebanon. She was accepted to a study abroad program and given a student visa to the United States.
Sophia filed for asylum in the United States in 2016 and the entire process has been “slow and confusing.” Nearly five years after filing for asylum, she has yet to receive an interview date. She said, “My whole existence feels like it’s pending with my asylum status: I only exist as Sophia because I’m currently living in the United States; everything–including who I am, my career, and my marriage–depends on my application being accepted.” After receiving a temporary employment permit and drawing on her experience in Lebanon, she decided to stop isolating herself and build her community through organizing.
Her initial goal was to acquire survival skills in the event she was returned to Lebanon. She said, “The opportunity to work at the Transgender Law Center for over 3 years went beyond this initial purpose into actually finding a true sense of belonging and siblinghood right here in the United States, amongst my community of TNG BIPOC living with HIV/AIDS.” Sophia stated those relationships she forged are what sustains her today and her extended family has given her a chance to look to her future and not her past. 
Perhaps one of the most important relationships is the one with her husband. Because of everything she went through in Lebanon, Sophia believed she was undeserving of love and would never find it. Women of trans experience are often highly fetishized and sexualized. Being trans amorous presented its stigma and shame for Sophia. Yet, she found love in Andrew. She said, “Being a wife today feels very validating, stabilizing, and empowering. By pure coincidence, I also recognize the privilege of landing in a relatively more progressive United States area. Just like my experience at TLC, this relationship pushed me further along my journey towards the future, away from the past.”
So what’s next for Sophia? She continues to await the approval of her asylum request. Sophia is committed to HIV advocacy and transgender justice. She pledges to work closely with the Bay Area leaders to serve the local communities of immigrants, Arab/Muslim, TGD, BIPOC, and people living with HIV: “I was recently sworn into the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, where I hope to be part of a body fostering positive change on the issues that impact our communities.”
Sophia has already had a big impact and has touched so many–we know that will continue and look forward to working with her to make it happen!