KATHMANDU: The US State Department has decided to honour Nepal’s Bhumika Shrestha, including 10 other women around the world, who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in order to bring about positive change to their communities, often at great personal risk and sacrifice.
The Department has announced the name of Bhumika from Nepal for 2022 International Women of Courage. From 2007, the State Department has started honouring women from around the world.
According to State Department, to date the U.S. Department of State has recognized more than 170 women from over 80 countries. All awardees have advocated for the protection of human rights, advanced gender equity and equality, empowered women and girls, in all their diversity, and fostered peace and government transparency around the world.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 IWOC award ceremony and IVLP program will be hosted virtually, the Department has said in a press brief.
Who is Bhumika Shrestha?
Transgender activist Bhumika Shrestha has advocated for gender minorities’ rights and social justice in Nepal since 2007. Despite the entrenched social stigma and historical biases against transgender persons, Ms. Shrestha helped lead the movement for gender minority recognition, as Nepal faced enormous political upheaval and rebirth. Thanks in large part to her activism, in 2007, Nepal’s Supreme Court ruled that individuals could be identified as a third gender on citizenship documents, and in the spring of 2021, she successfully changed her citizenship from “other” to female.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Shrestha advocated with the Government of Nepal to ensure the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community were met at the policy level. At the same time, she worked at the grassroots level to ensure medical, economic, and mental health needs were being met.
I'm thrilled to congratulate transgender rights activist Bhumika Shrestha, who will receive the @StateDept’s Int'l #WomenofCourage Award for her dedication to the LGBTQI+ community in Nepal! This is the 2nd year in a row that a Nepali will win this prestigious award. #IWD2022 pic.twitter.com/w6FVcP911U
— Ambassador Randy Berry (@USAmbNepal) March 8, 2022
In 2001, acid victim and activist Muskan Khatun had received the award from US State Department.
The name of the awardees:
