Emma Colao Corujo (born 1995 in Agüimes, Canary Islands, Spain) is a Spanish jurist, politician, and activist advocating for social justice, social rights, dependency care in the Canary Islands, and LGBT rights.[2][3]
Emma Colao | |
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Born | Emma Colao Corujo 1995 (age 28–29)[1] Agüimes, Canary Islands, Spain |
Occupation(s) | Jurist, politician, and activist. |
Career
editEmma Colao holds a degree in law.[4]
Throughout her career, Emma has worked as a legal advisor for at least 180 social organizations in the Canary Islands and has specialized in training the National Police, Civil Guard, and local police forces on hate crimes.[5]
In 2019, she founded the first LGBT+ feminist association (EQUAL LGTBI+) in the southeast and south of Gran Canaria, publicly coming out about her gender identity.[6]
In 2020, she joined the federation of social services collaborative entities (Social Action Coordinator of the Canary Islands), where she served as secretary and spokesperson until being elected president in 2021.[7]
During her tenure as federation president, she established in 2022 the first Platform for the Defense of Social Rights in the Canary Islands, unifying for the first time in Canary Islands history the Professional Associations of Social Work, Psychology, and Social Education along with the Third Sector of Social Action.[8]
In 2023, she ran as a candidate in the Canary Islands regional elections on May 28 for the Reunir Canarias Sostenible coalition, becoming the first transgender person in Spain to achieve this milestone.[9][10][11]
Through talks, interventions, and her activism, she has exposed the significant labor, economic, and psychosocial precarity faced by transgender people in Spain, as well as the hypocrisy of public organizations regarding LGBT struggles and how some companies have attempted to hire transgender people to obtain disability certificates, thus identifying transgender people as disabled.[12]
She currently serves as director of the Observatory of Social Rights of the Canary Islands and manager of ACUFADE, the leading organization in the Canary Islands for the care and advocacy of dependent persons.[13]
References
edit- ^ Peñagarikano, Pía (January 29, 2023). "Emma Colao: "El primer problema que tiene Fuerteventura es la ausencia de responsabilidad por parte de quienes dicen ser responsables"" [Emma Colao: “The first problem Fuerteventura has is the lack of responsibility on the part of those who claim to be responsible”.]. La Voz de Fuerteventura (in Spanish).
- ^ "Habla Emma Colao tras la polémica en la Televisión Canaria: "Me sentí como si no estuviera allí"" [Emma Colao speaks after the controversy on Canary TV: “I felt like I wasn't there”.]. La Sexta (in Spanish). April 8, 2024.
- ^ Etxebarria, Lucía (April 8, 2024). "Emma Colao, la que has montao. Por qué la cultura de la censura y el miedo mata" [Emma Colao, what you've done. Why the culture of censorship and fear kills.]. The Objective (in Spanish).
- ^ Fumero, Pedro (July 10, 2024). "Salud Mental en Canarias: el Archipiélago es la tercera autonomía con mayor incidencia de estas enfermedades en Atención Primaria" [Mental Health in the Canary Islands: the Archipelago is the third autonomous region with the highest incidence of these illnesses in Primary Care]. El Día (in Spanish).
- ^ "Arrancan en Mogán las jornadas formativas en delito de odio al colectivo LGTBI para Cuerpos y Fuerzas de Seguridad" [Training sessions on LGTBI hate crime for Law Enforcement and Security Forces kick off in Mogán]. Ayuntamiento de Mogán (in Spanish). October 17, 2021.
- ^ "La activista Emma Colao suma apoyos tras cuatro días en huelga de hambre contra el cierre del banco de alimentos en Mogán" [Activist Emma Colao gains support after four days on hunger strike against closure of food bank in Mogán]. El Diario (in Spanish). September 27, 2020.
- ^ Pinilla, Gonzalo (April 7, 2024). "¿Quién es el transgénero que se sintió humillado por la Televisión Canaria?" [Who is the transgender who felt humiliated by Canary Television?]. Eda TV (in Spanish).
- ^ Godoy, N. (October 22, 2024). "El Observatorio de Derechos Sociales de Canarias pide más diligencias en materia de dependencia al Gobierno regional" [The Observatory of Social Rights of the Canary Islands asks the regional government for more diligence on dependency issues]. Cadena SER (in Spanish).
- ^ Garófano, Laura (March 19, 2023). ""Soy Emma Colao, la primera candidata trans que se presenta a las elecciones autonómicas"" [“I am Emma Colao, the first trans candidate to run in the autonomic elections”.]. El Español (in Spanish).
- ^ "Emma Colao, primera mujer trans candidata a la presidencia del Gobierno de Canarias" [Emma Colao, first trans woman candidate for the presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands]. The Objective (in Spanish). January 22, 2023.
- ^ Bautista, Laura (May 15, 2023). "Emma Colao, primera candidata trans al Gobierno de Canarias: "Hemos roto el silencio"" [Emma Colao, first trans candidate for the Government of the Canary Islands: “We have broken the silence”.]. EFE (in Spanish).
- ^ Pascual, Eider (May 18, 2023). "Emma Colao: "En el colectivo trans hay quienes no quieren introducirse en entrevistas laborales para no salir peor psicológicamente"" [Emma Colao: “In the trans community there are those who do not want to enter job interviews so as not to come out worse psychologically”.]. La Voz de Lanzarote (in Spanish).
- ^ "Emma Colao, mujer trans, explica su "indignante" entrevista: "Se hablaba de mí como si no estuviera ahí"" [Emma Colao, trans woman, explains her “outrageous” interview: “They talked about me as if I wasn't there”.]. Antena3 (in Spanish). April 8, 2024.