London barrister Jessikha Inaba has made British history
(Picture: Jessikah Inaba)Jessikah Inaba has made history by becoming the UK’s first blind and black female barrister.
Inaba qualified for the Bar last week, after studying for five years at a London university, where she completed the full course in Braille.
None of the UK’s many legal organisations, including the four Inns of Court, the Bar Council, or the Bar Standards Board, could name another blind and black female barrister.
Speaking to the Times, the 23-year-old said: “I know I can do this job well, and the more people like me who go through training the easier it will become. I know I’m giving hope to others in similar situations.”
But who is Inaba, what is her condition, and how did she prepare for exams?
Who is Jessikah Inaba?
Inaba is the UK’s first blind and black female barrister from London. Inaba spent her childhood in Lewisham, before relocating to Camden.
She attended local schools, as well as a secondary in Surrey, both of which provided programmess to assist students with vision impairment.
In September 2017, Inaba began studying law before starting a Master’s two years later, and a professional-development course.
What condition does Jessikah Inaba have?
Inaba has bilateral microphthalmia, and those with this condition are born with smaller eyes than average.
According to Moorfields Eye Hospital, most cases happen by chance and the cause isn’t always known.
It can be caused by changes in your genes, meaning your eye didn’t form properly or other parts of your face and mouth might not have grown correctly either.
How did Jessikah Inaba prepare for exams?
Inaba, who completed her law degree from Surrey, prepared her own Braille materials from lecture notes, or from friends who read books to her.
Braille can be read on a special screen that usually gives one line at a time, or from specially printed books.
She mentioned that it took seven months for the University of Law Bloomsbury, in central London, to obtain one of her two key study texts so she could read on her computer, and five months for the other.
And, because of pictures and tables in the books, her Braille screen missed huge chunks of material, she said.
In court, the London lawyer uses the Braille keyboard to read and edit documents by hand, while listening to proceedings.
She now plans to apply for a pupillage, where newly qualified barristers receive their first placement in chambers - when applications open in January.
“There’s a triple-glazed glass ceiling. I’m not the most common gender or colour, and I have a disability, but by pushing through, I’m easing the burden on the next person like me,” she added.
