NEPAL is celebrating “historic milestone” as activist Bhumika Shrestha joins the national parliament, becoming the country’s first transgender lawmaker.

Shrestha, 37, was appointed to the 275-member House of Representatives through the proportional representation system, representing the Rastriya Swatantra Party.

“I am very excited but also feel the responsibility on my shoulders” Shrestha said.

She has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights for years, working closely with the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), a leading organisation supporting sexual and gender minorities.

Celebrating her appointment, supporters visited the BDS office in Kathmandu, presenting her with flowers, scarves, and gifts, including a pen meant to symbolise her new legislative role.

She noted that her position would allow her to bring the concerns of gender minorities into national policymaking.

“Our constitution has provisions for our community, but they have not been translated into laws and policies. Our community expects me to raise our issues (in parliament).”

Nepal has some of the most progressive LGBTQ laws in South Asia. Discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation was outlawed in 2007, a third-gender option for official documents was introduced in 2013, and passports recognising an ‘others’ category were added in 2015. In 2023, the Supreme Court allowed same-sex and transgender couples to register their marriages.

Despite these reforms, members of the LGBTQ community have rarely held public office. The last was an openly gay man in 2008, also nominated through proportional representation. Today, more than 900,000 people in Nepal identify as sexual minorities, according to BDS.

Umisha Pandey, BDS president, described Shrestha’s election as a ‘historic’ moment, praising it as a step toward greater visibility and political inclusion for the country’s gender minorities.

“Our pains, our sufferings, our feelings, our stories and our every problem is only understood by us, not by others”.