Yet despite the challenges of working in a country that consistently ranks as one of the world’s deadliest places for LGBTQ+ people, the 39-year-old is undeterred in her push for equality for transgender people – especially in the workplace.
For Malunguinho believes that establishing a quota of public jobs for the trans community – following the lead of other South American nations such as Argentina and Uruguay – will not only change public opinion but ultimately reduce anti-LGBTQ+ violence. “We need to naturalize the presence of trans people (at work) and in decision-making, so that they are not just recipients of public policies, but the designers of them as well,” Malunguinho told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.