Nepal marked a historic moment on Monday as Bhumika Shrestha became the country’s first transgender woman to serve in Parliament.
The 37-year-old LGBTQ+ rights advocate was confirmed as a proportional representation Member of Parliament for the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party.
Her appointment follows the party’s strong performance in the March 5 national elections, in which the RSP, led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, secured 182 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.
Shrestha’s entry into the legislature is being viewed as a significant step for Nepal’s LGBTQ+ community, which constitutes a sizeable section of the population. According to the Blue Diamond Society, more than 900,000 people in the country identify as sexual minorities.
Despite Nepal’s progressive constitutional framework—introduced in 2007 and including provisions such as the recognition of a third-gender category in citizenship documents and passports—Shrestha noted that these safeguards have often not translated into concrete laws and policies.
Activists have described her appointment as a “historic” breakthrough, emphasising that direct political representation is crucial to addressing the community’s challenges.
While an openly gay lawmaker had served in Parliament in 2008, LGBTQ+ representation in public office has remained largely absent for nearly two decades.
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