Valley
First transgender to travel abroad with new passport
Bhumika Shrestha has become the first transgender woman to travel abroad by identifying herself as ‘other’ in the gender category.Bhumika Shrestha has become the first transgender woman to travel abroad by identifying herself as ‘other’ in the gender category.
According to Madhav Dulal, from the Blue Diamond Society, Shrestha travelled to New Delhi on Tuesday with her new passport. Shrestha, who was born with male organs, identifies as female. “This is the first time a person has travelled by identifying themselves as ‘other’,” said Dulal, “The TIA has a system now where it will read ‘other’ as a gender category.”
Shrestha went to Delhi to apply for a visa to Taiwan, where she will be participating in an international conference on gay rights.
In August, Nepal placed itself among a handful of countries in the world to allow ‘other’ as a gender category in passports. It was hailed as a milestone in the LGBTI movement.
Manoj Shahi, who identifies self as Monica Shahi, became the first person to bear a passport under the ‘other’ category. According to Blue Diamond Society three others received such passports. Shrestha was one of them.
Once the Department of Passport recognised ‘Others’ as a category, the system at Tribhuvan International Airport had to be adjusted in order to the category. TIA officials, quoted in a press statement by Blue Diamond Society, said it was ready.
Australia and New Zealand are the only other countries that issue passports with ‘x’ as an option for people who do not identify as male or female.
Earlier this year, Nepal had amended the Passport Regulations, allowing ‘other’ as one of the gender categories. Nepal is considered a progressive country in South Asia in terms of LGBTI rights.