Rukshana Kapali

Woman holding placard
Kapali in 2019

Rukshana Kapali (Newar: रुक्शना कपाली; born 1999) is a Newar activist living in Nepal. Kapali campaigns for both intersex and LGBT rights and protection for the culture and language of the Newar people. Her court case regarding her right to identify as female rather than third gender went to the Supreme Court of Nepal and in November 2023, the court ruled in her favour.


Early life and education

Rukshana Kapali was born in 1999 in Patan, Nepal.[1][2] Her family is Newar and she grew up speaking the Newar language (Nepal Bhasa) at home rather than Nepali.[2]

Kapali was assigned male at birth and whilst at school changed her gender to female. When she studied for Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Sociology at Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus in Kathmandu, she experienced difficulties in registering for exams because of her changed name and became an activist for transgender and human rights.[3][4]

Activism and career

Taking an intersectional approach, Kapali campaigned on both Intersex and LGBT issues and protection for the culture and language of Newar people. She founded the Queer Youth Group with other people from the Kathmandu Valley.[2] She blogs about her activism and has written on the subject of PoMSOGIESC (People of Marginalised Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics).[5] Her protests have also been covered by media outlets such as The Kathmandu Post.[4]

In 2021, Kapali went to the Supreme Court of Nepal in order to assert her right to identify as female rather than third gender as she had been compelled to do by the authorities. In November 2023, the court told Kapali she was correct before releasing the written judgement.[1] Also in November 2023, she appeared on the BBC 100 Women list, alongside Amal Clooney and Michelle Obama.[6][7]

In October 2024, Kapali was included in the TIME 100 Next list of the world's most influential rising leaders.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lau, Holning; Malagodi, Mara (2023). "Legal Gender Recognition in Nepal and Comparative Context". University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b c "From where I stand: "I identified challenges in both activisms, in terms of acknowledging intersectionality"". UN Women – Asia-Pacific. 19 June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  3. ^ Pyakurel, Diwakar (18 June 2019). "How a transgender student is fighting for her right to education". Online Khabar. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b Ghimire, Aakriti (9 June 2022). "Tribhuvan University system doesn't recognise transgender student". Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Interview with Rukshana Kapali". Rolling Nexus. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Transgender Activist Rukshana Kapali on BBC's 100 Women – The Buzz Nepal". The Buzz Nepal. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  7. ^ Perry, Sophie (26 November 2023). "Trans human rights activist named on BBC's 100 Women list". Pink News. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. ^ de Guzman, Chad (2 October 2024). "Rukshana Kapali". TIME. Retrieved 14 October 2024.