Bhutan’s trailblazing beauty queen speaks up for LGBTQ community

 | 
07/11/2022

Tashi Choden will not only be the first contestant to represent Bhutan at the Miss Universe competition — she is also the Himalayan country’s only openly gay public figure. The remote country is famed for its philosophy of “Gross National Happiness”, in which it prioritises citizens’ well-being on par with economic growth. But up until February 2021, gay sex was defined in the penal code as “sexual conduct against the laws of nature”, and branded illegal in the Buddhist country. That makes Choden’s crowning last month as Miss Bhutan 2022 a “huge deal” for the country of almost 800,000 people and its LGBTQ community, she said.

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 11/29/2023
11/28/2023
Several families are suing to stop Iowa’s new law that bans books from school libraries, forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues and forces educators …
Added on: 11/29/2023
11/28/2023
Members of Russia’s LGBTQ community fear a court ruling due on Thursday will label them “extremists” and pave the way for arrests and prosecutions …
Added on: 11/29/2023
11/28/2023
As the sun rises over Pristina, the call to prayer echoes through the Kosovo capital just as the patrons of its only LGBTQ bar …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 11/29/2023
Qatari security services reportedly detained and interrogated a former Qatar Airways flight attendant for wearing “tinted moisturizer,” which is perceived by authorities as a …
Added on: 11/28/2023
The Iranian LGBTQ+ community has long been kept invisible by mainstream overseas Iranian opposition, but a US LGBTQ+ award to exiled Crown Prince Reza …
Added on: 11/27/2023
NEW DLEHI: The Madras high court order aimed at providing minimum protection from harassment and discrimination to LGBTQIA+ couples by suggesting to the Tamil Nadu government to consider …