Bhumika Shrestha has taken office as Nepal’s first transgender-identifying member of parliament. Shrestha, a biological male who identifies as female, is serving as a member of Nepal’s parliamentary Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee. Shrestha has previously been involved in LGBT advocacy groups aimed at helping create reforms for sexual minorities.
Shrestha’s appointment has drawn attention because it was through the country’s women’s quota system, despite Shrestha being a biological male. While critics have accused him of taking a woman’s spot, he has argued that it was necessary because the country does not include a dedicated category for LGBT groups.
"The current election system lacks a specific cluster for gender minorities,” Shrestha said, according to the Kathmandu Post. “My inclusion within the women’s category is a practical necessity of the current legal architecture, even as I fight to expand those categories. No matter how I reached the House, I am there to speak for my community. But when some friends from my own community oppose me, it makes me sad.’’
Shrestha has described early experiences as not feeling as though his so-called gender identity aligns with his biological sex. He was later connected with the Blue Diamond Society, the leading LGBT+ group in Nepal, where he became involved in leadership training. He also helped push for a legally recognized “third gender” on official documents. In 2007, the country’s supreme court ruled gender identity should be determined by self-identification rather than biology.
Since entering parliament earlier this year, Shrestha has worked to advocate for so-called intersex rights, legal reforms for replacing gendered language in adoption law, and other pro-transgender policies. Shrestha has addressed the house multiple times and, while on the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee, has tried to include intersex children in the Child Rights Act amendment.
