double-skinned crabsVietnamese crab exporter
Advertisement
Nepal
AsiaSouth Asia

Nepal’s LGBTQ community celebrates first transgender woman lawmaker

More than 900,000 people identify as sexual minorities in Nepal, which has some of South Asia’s most progressive laws on LGBTQ rights

2-MIN READ2-MIN
Listen
Bhumika Shrestha, Nepal’s first transgender woman to become a member of parliament, is congratulated by members of the LGBTQ community in Kathmandu on Monday. Photo: EPA
Agence France-Presse
Draped in garlands, Bhumika Shrestha on Monday became Nepal’s first transgender woman lawmaker, marking a proud milestone for the marginalised community in the Himalayan nation.

Nepal’s Election Commission confirmed the 37-year-old as a proportional representation MP from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which won a majority in parliament with 182 seats last week.

“I am very excited but also feel the responsibility on my shoulders,” said Shrestha, an LGBTQ rights advocate.
Advertisement

“Our constitution has provisions for our community but they have not translated to laws and policies. Our community expects me to raise our issues [in parliament].”

Bhumika Shrestha receives garlands from other LGBTQ members at a Blue Diamond Society event on Monday. Photo: AP
Bhumika Shrestha receives garlands from other LGBTQ members at a Blue Diamond Society event on Monday. Photo: AP

Shrestha will sit in the 275-member House of Representatives elected on March 5, the first poll since the deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government in September last year.

Advertisement

RSP, led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, won 125 of 165 directly elected seats and secured 57 more through proportional representation, leaving it just two short of a two-thirds majority.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x