First trans beauty pageant finalist makes history in Nepal Reuters 12/29/2020
By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, Dec 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Angel Lama sashays down the catwalk in the Miss Universe Nepal finals on Wednesday she will make history as the first transgender woman to be a finalist in the Himalayan nation s most glamorous annual event.
Nepal ranks among fewer than a dozen countries in the world that accept trans contestants in their national pageants and only the third in Asia after Myanmar and Mongolia, according to LGBT+ activists.
The move comes after new management relaxed the criteria for height, weight and appearance, and allowed any bold, beautiful and confident woman between 18 and 28 years to participate.