Chakra Sawden Limbu was born and raised in a simple farming family in Babiyabirta, Morang. As the 'son' born after two daughters, he was pampered by his family from a young age. However, as he grew up, a change began to appear within him that surprised his family and society.

Chakra only associated with girls, was attracted to their clothes, jewelry, and lipstick. This change became a cause of curiosity on one hand, and pain on the other. Her friends started insulting her at school. She had to endure this insult for a long time. This abuse did not stop in campus life, but rather increased.

Due to the continuous insults, she sometimes even went as far as to end her life. However, suddenly a new turn came in her life. In 2008, she joined an organization working in the field of gender and sexual minority rights. For the first time, she found a way to support herself by standing on the path of self-identification.

Society and family expected that a son should carry on the lineage and fulfill responsibilities. However, Chakra was the daughter within a son. It took her years to muster the courage to openly accept her third gender identity. Collaboration with the organization strengthened her. It taught her the art of living. Finally, in 2014, she went to Thailand and underwent a gender change. From Chakra Sawden Limbu, Numa Limbu became 'Chanchala'.

From rights activist to political journey

Chanchala has been raising the voices of gender and sexual minority communities for 20 years. As the founding executive director of 'Lead Nepal' organization in Damak, Jhapa, she showed hundreds of youth the way to find identity.

From that thinking, that pain and decades of struggle, the Inclusive Socialist Party was born. Its election symbol is Shrivatsa, meaning eternal knot. In fact, Numa, who has been living in Kathmandu for the past 8 months, had an old dream of opening a party. She was in the mood to register the party while staying in Kathmandu. Coincidentally, the Genji rebellion took place, which made her even more excited.

The first such party in Nepal to be registered with the Election Commission under the leadership of a transgender president, whose core is gender and sexual minorities, disabled citizens, women involved in the entertainment industry and other communities that have been neglected by the state for years. 

The party was registered as a new party with the Election Commission on November 27. The certificate was received on November 14. The inspiring force behind the party registration was former Constituent Assembly member Sunil Babu Pant, a leader in the fight to get the first recognition of homosexual and third gender identities in the constitution in Nepal. The feeling of being betrayed by mainstream parties for years by considering them as just a 'vote bank' remains like an unhealed wound for Chanchala and her friends.

The national gathering held in Kathmandu on November 24 made Chanchala the president and pushed the community towards a new political direction. The party has 21 central members. As the name suggests, it has inclusive participation. Indigenous people, indigenous people, Dalits, Madhesis, Muslims, the disabled, and backward areas are all included.

Party spokesperson Pratiksha Chapagain is blind. She says, ‘We are not in politics to earn money, but for existence and identity.’ According to her, her party will also participate in the upcoming Falgun 21 elections. For which they are busy preparing for the elections. ‘The old parties only created vote banks,’ Numa said, ‘Now we will prepare for our rights by winning the elections.’

The party’s agenda is not just a demand for rights, she says, but the party’s vision is to change the country’s development model. Corruption-free governance, job creation, environment-friendly development, participatory democracy – their ‘differences’ on all these issues are not only theoretical, but are presented as practical alternatives.

‘A leader is not good just because he is a man, a woman or a third gender,’ says Numa, ‘The basis of good politics and leadership is ability, honesty and foresight. We have moved forward with that value.’ Numa’s political flight is not just a story of his personal transformation, it is a door of possibility for thousands of Chakras – who are still hiding their identities due to fear, shame and humiliation.