{"id":145770,"date":"2024-11-13T16:11:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T23:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=145770"},"modified":"2024-11-13T16:11:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T23:11:01","slug":"who-is-sri-lankas-first-transgender-parliamentary-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/11\/13\/who-is-sri-lankas-first-transgender-parliamentary-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Sri Lanka\u2019s first transgender parliamentary candidate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maroosha Muzaffar<\/a> https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Chanu Nimesha, 49, is determined to make politics more inclusive<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chanu
Chanu Nimesha campaigns in Warakapola, Sri Lanka, on 8 November 2024 (REUTERS)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka<\/a>\u2019s first openly transgender parliamentary candidate aims to foster a more inclusive political culture.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chanu Nimesha, 49, a member of the Socialist Party<\/a> of Sri Lanka, is contesting from the Kegalle constituency and is focusing her campaign on social justice issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transgender people, about one per cent of the country\u2019s population, face social rejection and lack political representation which Ms Nimesha, 49, is seeking to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not concerned about winning or losing,\u201d she said in an interview with Reuters<\/em>. But it\u2019s important for me to be present in this space, to be seen, to inspire others like me. I want to help everyone, not just my community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Nimesha is one of about 8,000 candidates in Thursday\u2019s parliamentary election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The snap election was called by new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake <\/a>to bolster parliamentary support for his policies amid Sri Lanka\u2019s severe financial crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis, caused by high debt, economic mismanagement and lost tourism revenue due to the Covid pandemic, triggered street protests that felled former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part with the help of a $2.9bn IMF bailout, the country has begun a slow recovery, though poverty still affects a quarter of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Nimesha claims to have participated in the protests that forced Mr Rajapaksa<\/a> to resign as the president and flee the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support her activism and campaign, Ms Nimesha works as a quantity surveyor at a nearby construction site. She is an amateur actress, composes music and has written a book scheduled for release in the coming two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chanu
Chanu Nimesha carries pamphlets while campaigning in Warakapola, Sri Lanka, on 8 November 2024 (Reuters)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mr Dissanayake dissolved the parliament on 24 September and called an early general election, seeking broader support for his reformist agenda as his party held only three seats in the outgoing legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 17.1 million Sri Lankans are registered to vote to elect 225 parliamentarians, 196 directly and 29 through a proportional representation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results are expected by Friday. The new parliament will convene on 21 November, when Mr Dissanayake is slated to present his policy agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Nimesha says people need to see the humanity in each other and accept each other\u201d to build a society where we all belong\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Galle in southern Sri Lanka, she lost her father to political violence when she was 14. It marked a turning point in her life, she says, eventually leading her to relocate to Colombo in search of new beginnings and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she embraced her identity and pursued a path as an activist, her relationship with her conservative family grew strained. I understand their decision to cut ties with me. This is why I\u2019m so passionate about the need for inclusiveness<\/a>,\u201d she told Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson Samarasinghe, fellow candidate from the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka, told EFE <\/em>news agency: No one has given a chance to a transgender candidate before. We are happy that Nimesha has joined us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Nimesha describes her candidature as a historical change\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step is always difficult, and it is easy to continue that journey,\u201d she says. She hopes that more people from the LGBTQ+ community<\/a> will contest in future elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maroosha Muzaffar https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/ Chanu Nimesha, 49, is determined to make politics more inclusive For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sri Lanka\u2019s first openly transgender […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}