The first edition of Miss Universe Nepal under the directorship of Nagma Shrestha was held on 30th December 2020 where Anshika Sharma was crowned Miss Universe Nepal 2020. She was crowned by the director herself and succeeded Miss Universe Nepal 2019 Pradeepta Adhikari to represent Nepal at Miss Universe 2020.
Miss Universe Nepal 2020 witnessed a historic record being made as Angel Lama walked on-stage as the first transgender woman to be a part of finalists. For Nagma Shrestha, national director of the Miss Universe Nepal organization ‘everyone is equal, whatever their sexual orientation’. “If they say they are women, they are women, and they should be treated like women”, she said.
Recently, Miss Universe Nepal 2020 Anshika Sharma hosted Angel Lama for a live session and discussed the LGBTQIA+ community’s status in Nepal and how education plays an important role in busting the myths related to inclusivity.
Anshika complimented Angel by mentioning that she is one of the pioneers of the change that Miss Universe Nepal decided to embrace and she is an inspiration to a lot of people out there. She further mentioned that Nepal is one of the most progressive countries in Asia when it comes to LGBTQIA+ rights and the constitution of Nepal has accepted the rights of LGBTQIA+ rights as fundamental rights but, it is very transparent that they are not accepted as a part of the society completely. She further mentioned that various organizations are working for them and making society a better place for their living.
Anshika asked Angel about the issues that are still prevalent in the society to which Angel replied by stating that she can relate a lot from her story as growing up her mother had a lot of expectations from her to marry a woman and have a child and growing generation. She added that it is how the society has been shaped by the idea of patriarchy that we are all complied to follow on this spoken rule. She explained that society has some rules where a man must follow certain rules and a woman must follow certain rules and that’s one of the challenges everyone from the community is facing.
Angel added that it is going to take a long time for the LGBTQIA+ community to be accepted completely but fortunately Nepal is the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize LGBTQIA+ rights in the constitution and it is a great achievement but the fight is not over. The queens also spoke about how much legal recognition is important for the LGBTQIA+ community to live freely and Angel added that some of her documents still list her as a male and this hits her mentally and is an uncomfortable feeling because that is not what she is today. She also added that there are a lot of policies that need attention and changes and getting legal recognition is one of them.
Miss Universe Nepal 2020 Anshika asked Angel about the challenges faced in terms of healthcare conditions in the country especially for the transgender people as Nepal doesn’t have the provision for the procedure for gender reassignment surgery and that’s why they must travel and when they come back there is no proper health care provision. Angel mentioned that it is one of the issues that a lot of transgender people face as the surgery is expensive but getting the surgery done is a magical moment for a lot of transwoman/men as surgery gives them a chance to see themselves as they like. She further added that Nepal should have a provision for the surgery because it is important.
Talking about the positive changes, Angel added that Miss Universe Organization’s step to accept the transwoman for representing their countries is a positive change that will help create awareness that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be treated as equals. She also appreciated the younger generation by mentioning that they are more accepting and welcoming towards the changes which is one of the positive changes.
The queens later in the session spoke about Angel’s experience along with the daily issues transgender people must face. They discussed how society should come together as a whole and educate everyone about LGBTQIA+ rights to develop. The two queens also replied to some of the questions asked about the people as well. Lastly, Angel thanked Anshika for hosting the live session which could help people know a little more about the LGBTQIA+ community and they grow a little kinder towards them.