Anjali Lama (; born ) is Nepal's first

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

model and a

transgender rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...

activist.

Early life

Lama was born into a farming family in

Nuwakot District Nuwakot District (), a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bidur as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 288,478 in 2001 and 277 ...

and was the fifth of seven siblings. She was

gender variant Gender nonconformity or gender variance is gender expression by an individual whose behavior, mannerisms, and/or appearance does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A person can be gender-nonconforming regardless of their gender ident ...

as a youth, and her perceived

effeminacy Effeminacy or male femininity is the embodiment of feminine traits in boys or men, particularly those considered untypical of men or masculinity. These traits include roles, stereotypes, behaviors, and appearances that are socially associated wi ...

was mocked by family members, teachers, and schoolmates. She left Nuwakot at age 18 and moved to

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

, where she says she experienced "mental torture" due to incongruence with her

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

. She was dismissed from her job in a hotel as the staff did not accept Lama presenting as feminine.

Coming out and modelling career

When Lama moved to Kathmandu, she watched ''Sangharsha'', a television show about transgender people, and identified with the people on the show. At the suggestion of other

trans women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

she had met, Lama became involved with the

Blue Diamond Society The Blue Diamond Society (BDS; Nepali: नील हीरा समाज) is an LGBT rights organization in Nepal. It was established in 2001 to advocate for change in the existing laws against homosexuality and to advocate for the rights of N ...

, an

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

group in Nepal. Despite initially being outed and rejected by her family once a member of her village told them she was trans, she told her family she was a trans woman in 2005. She later joined a modelling agency in the city. Her early years modelling were difficult, as she experienced career discrimination due to being a trans woman. In 2007, Lama competed in

Miss International Queen Miss International Queen is the world's biggest beauty pageant for transgender women. The pageant was conceived in 2004 and named the largest and most prestigious transgender pageant by CNN original American documentary television series '' Thi ...

and in 2010, she made her

catwalk A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. This is where ...

debut. A 50-minute-long documentary film was made about Lama titled ''Living Inside Someone Else's Skin''. In 2017, she became well-known as the first transgender model to feature at the

Lakmé Fashion Week Lakmé Fashion Week X FDCI is a bi-annual fashion week which takes place at Delhi and Mumbai. Its ''Summer-Resort'' show takes place in March at Mumbai while the ''Winter-Festive'' show takes place in October at Delhi. History The event first ...

show in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. That year, she appeared on the cover of '' Elle India'' and worked with

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

in 2019, becoming the first trans model from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

to be featured in an international brand campaign, and was announced to appear in the all-women

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

''Women's Stories'' in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lama, Anjali Living people 1985 births Nepalese LGBTQ people Transgender female models 21st-century Nepalese women 20th-century Nepalese women Nepalese female models Transgender rights activists People from Nuwakot District Miss International Queen contestants