Nepal : LGBTQ+ Activist Bhumika Shrestha took the Oath as the Country’s first Transgender Female Member of Parliament
Kathmandu : An unprecedented chapter was added to Nepali politics on March 17, 2026, when 35-year-old LGBTQ+ activist Bhumika Shrestha took the oath as the country’s first transgender female Member of Parliament. She was selected by the ‘Rastriya Swatantra Party’ (RSP) through the proportional representation system. Born in Kathmandu in 1987 as a boy named ‘Kailash,’ Bhumika was forced to drop out of school during her childhood due to severe discrimination; however, she never gave up the fight for her identity.
Bhumika—who legally registered her gender as ‘female’ in her citizenship records in 2021—was also the first person in Nepal’s history to travel abroad using a passport issued under the ‘Other’ category.Her victory brings a new ray of hope for democratic representation and social acceptance, not only for the transgender community in Nepal but across the entire South Asian region.
