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Chanu Nimesha

Reuters

Chanu Nimesha is contesting Sri Lanka&#x27;s parliamentary election on Thursday (November 14) as the first transgender candidate, hoping to forge a more inclusive and tolerant political culture in the South Asian island nation.Transgender people are estimated to make up about 1% of Sri Lanka&#x27;s 22 million people, according to Equal Ground, a local civil society group. They frequently face social rejection, lack legal protection and have almost no representation in political parties.Contesting from Kegalle - about 80km (50 miles) east of Colombo and dotted with rubber plantations - for a seat in the 225-strong parliament, Nimesha said her message of social justice had been well received.&quot;If people vote for us, we expect to do a lot of work for Kegalle District. We will take steps in the future to change the attitudes of society. Even if I don’t get elected, I will not give up the fight to change the attitudes of the people,&quot; she said, while canvassing for votes with colleagues on a rainy day.Nimesha, 49, is contesting for the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka and one of about 8,000 candidates in the poll, which comes less than two months after Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake won September&#x27;s presidential election.High debt, shortsighted economic policies and tourism revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic plunged Sri Lanka into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022.Nimesha was one of thousands who marched in Colombo that year to occupy then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa&#x27;s office and residence, forcing him to flee the country and later resign.Supported by a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, Sri Lanka has made a tentative recovery but a quarter of the population remains in poverty.Nimesha raises funds for her activism and political campaign by working as a quantity surveyor at a nearby construction site. She is also an amateur actress, composes music and has written a book set to be published in the next two months.Born in the southern town of Galle, Nimesha was 14 when her father was killed in a political insurgency in 1989. She eventually moved to Colombo and is no longer in touch with her conservative family.She has made peace with her family’s decision to sever ties. In the face of adversity, her determination to foster inclusivity only grows stronger.&quot;As human beings, what is important to us is humanity, not whether we are man or woman.&quot;<div>(Production: Channa Kumara, Waruna Karunatilake, Daniel Lim)</div>

Chanu Nimesha is contesting Sri Lanka's parliamentary election on Thursday (November 14) as the first transgender candidate, hoping to forge a more inclusive and tolerant political culture in the South Asian island nation.

Chanu Nimesha is contesting Sri Lanka's parliamentary election on Thursday (November 14) as the first transgender candidate, hoping to forge a more inclusive and tolerant political culture in the South Asian island nation.

Sri Lanka's first transgender candidate hopes to break political, social barriers

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Sri Lanka's first transgender candidate hopes to break political, social barriers

Reuters

Published November 13, 2024 07:14 PM PHT

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Sri Lanka

Chanu Nimesha

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