Chanu Nimesha is contesting Sri Lanka's parliamentary election on Thursday as the first openly transgender candidate, hoping to forge a more inclusive and tolerant political culture on the South Asian island.

Who is Sri Lanka’s first transgender parliamentary candidate? - Chanu Nimesha, 49, is determined to make politics more inclusive

Chanu Nimesha is vying for a seat in Sri Lanka’s parliament, becoming the first openly transgender candidate in the country’s history.

Sri Lanka's new leftist leader has drawn strong support from an unlikely source as he seeks to expand his three parliamentary seats to a house majority in elections on Thursday.

High debt, shortsighted economic policies and tourism revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic plunged Sri Lanka into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022. Nimesha was one of thousands who marched in Colombo that year to occupy ...