Nepal's first transgender candidates run for local office

Two transgender candidates are contesting Nepal's local by-elections for the first time, hoping to push for political representation among sexual and gender minorities in the Himalayan nation.

Chief Election Commissioner said the two candidates will help "open a door for sexual minority groups to come forward in politics".

The country has made significant strides in LGBTQ rights. In 2007, it outlawed discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. A third-gender category for citizenship documents was introduced in 2013, and passports with an "others" category followed in 2015. Last year, an interim order from the Supreme Court allowed same-sex and transgender couples to register their marriage.