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B. Manjamma Jogathi
B. Manjamma Jogathi is a Padma Shri awardee and a transgender folk artist. Hailing from the Vijayanagara district in Karnataka, she was the first transwoman to be the president of a government academy in India. Her contribution to the preservation and promotion of Jogathi nritya won her Karnataka's Rajyotsava Award, the state's highest civilian award, in 2010, and the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2021. She has been conferred an honorary doctorate by Sharnbasva University, Kalaburagi. She runs the Padmashri Matha B. Manjamma Jogathi Pratishthana, a trust that works for the upliftment of the trans community in India. She works and speaks extensively on gender equality.
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