Young New Zealander of the Year first trans recipient in awards' 13-year history

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Shaneel Lal is the first trans person to win an award in the 13-year history of the New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Trans activist Shaneel Lal believes their Young New Zealander of the Year award may receive some online backlash, but said the win is a result of hard work, not to, “fill a diversity quota”.

Lal, 22, who was an instrumental figure in the fight to have conversion therapy banned in New Zealand, was celebrated at the 2023 New Zealander of the Year awards at Auckland’s Cordis Hotel on Thursday night.

The annual ceremony, held live for the first time since 2019, celebrates Kiwi achievements in seven different categories and Lal beat finalists Elliot Jones and Georgia Latu to take the win.

For the Auckland-based student, the win was “quite a significant moment for the trans community, because this isn’t about me”.

“I represent a community that for so long has been persecuted in our country. I think Aotearoa, in recent years, has really come together in solidarity for trans people.”

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Shaneel Lal, who fought for conversion therapy to be banned in Aotearoa, has won Young New Zealander of the Year.

Shaneel Lal is a finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year.

As the first trans person to win any award at the annual ceremony since it was first held in 2010, Lal was celebrated on Thursday for their work in getting the harmful therapy – which attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity – banned in Aotearoa.

Back in Fiji, they were “in conversion therapy from as early as six years old”, and “I thought my life would begin and end with hiding my true self”.

While moving to New Zealand at age 14 was a “lifeline”, Lal was offered conversation therapy again when they were 17 years old.

It was at that moment they committed themselves to ending the practice.

Five years later, that movement was successful with Parliament passing a law banning the controversial therapy in February 2022, with the support of nearly all MPs in the house.

“A significant part of the movement to end conversion therapy was trying to heal myself,” Lal said.

“I think a lot of people want activism to be revolutionary, but I want trans people to just be … without ever having to think about their identity. That feels like a very simple vision but one that feels very impossible to achieve.”

Lal hopes that with the win on Thursday night, young LGBTQI+ people will see, “a queer adult who is happy. I hope they can see there is a reality in which they can grow up and be happy, queer adults.”

“I hope they see there is an alternative reality.”

And while the win will hopefully prove an inspiration to many, Lal is expecting some backlash from others, and said their nomination had already been clouded by online trolling and even death threats.

But the win on Thursday night, Lal said, is due to “working my ass off for six years” and not to “fill some diversity quota”.