In childhood, I was a very lighthearted boy, playing football and cricket with my friends in my village. I felt very normal. Everyone seemed to love me. Because my academics were going well, there were expectations. Although I come from a Brahmin1Within the traditional caste system in Nepal, Brahmins were… Continued reading Different Decisions

At eight or nine years old, I started realizing that I was a woman. I was the youngest in my family, and nobody said anything when I wrapped myself in my sister’s dresses. They were way too big for me. My elder brother even used to do my make-up and… Continued reading The Light of Knowledge

I always remember from my school days going to bed and doing all kinds of thinking. Alone in my room, I would always pray, God, when I wake up in the morning, please make me normal. I used to feel such low self-esteem and low confidence. Then in the morning… Continued reading My Way Out

In the early grades, my body was just like a child’s, and sometimes you can’t tell if young kids are really girls or boys. After I passed fifth grade, I started in a new school, Macchaapuchhara Higher Secondary School in a town in central Nepal called Pokhara. This was a… Continued reading A New Minority

Yeah, I have profiles on Planet Romeo, Silver Daddies, and Nice Daddies.1These are websites that provide online dating services for men who have sex with men. If guys want to visit Nepal, they can put information about themselves on these sites in a traveler’s section that shows who’s visiting where. I… Continued reading The One Single Thing That Changed My Life

When people in my village finish school they try to go to Kathmandu. In my village, Nuwakot, there’s no tourism—you can’t see the Himalayas. People farm corn, wheat, mustard, and rice to make their money. When I came to Kathmandu from Nuwakot for higher education I went to school for… Continued reading Nepal’s First Transgender Model

I belong to the Tharu1The Tharu are another of Nepal’s ethnic groups that live in the Southern belt of Nepal that used to be largely jungle forests. The Tharu have multiple languages and their own cultural traditions and religion. ethnic group, from Kusheha, Nepal, and in my community people love their… Continued reading An Identity I Couldn’t Hide

My father was in the Nepalese Royal Army, and as I was growing up my uncle, brother, and father would always talk about warrior activities. My home was also very near to the barracks. I frequently saw army personnel roaming through the fields of my village. I was so impressed… Continued reading How to be Bold

When I was a child, I always dreamed of serving Nepal as a soldier. I felt like a powerful person. Even though I was born in a female body, I felt like a boy and wanted to join the forces to express my masculinity. For a while, female-bodied people could… Continued reading A Different Kind of Battlefield

When I was a child, I always thought, Why is my body like this? I was always frustrated, crying alone because I wanted to be a girl but my body was male. Many times I would wear my sister’s clothes secretly, and many times my mother would tell me, “Why… Continued reading Power from the Inside

At the public university in Kathmandu, it’s always a big crowded classroom where not too many people listen and too many people talk. Students wander in and out at any time while the professor is talking. The seats and benches are so dusty. The professor comes late sometimes. Not many… Continued reading The Fortunate Accident

I could tell he liked me as well. We always sat on the bench together at school in 7th grade. I knew he was a girl, yet I liked his masculine voice, eyes, and actions. We couldn’t say anything about these feelings. We lived in houses very close to one… Continued reading Pressure from Everywhere