?Best Third Gender? award

The first-ever ?Best Third Gender? award was conferred by the Tamil Government on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day to transgender activist Grace Bannu for her services towards the welfare of the society. The award was given by the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department for recognising transgenders and their contributions to society.
Banu played a key role in passing of the court order that gives an opportunity for transgenders in the TNPSC recruitment examination. She received several awards in Tamil Nadu for fighting for the education and employment rights of the transgender community.