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.

Sri Lanka’s first openly transgender parliamentary candidate aims to foster a more inclusive political culture. Chanu Nimesha, 49, a member of the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka, is contesting from the Kegalle constituency and is focusing her campaign on social justice issues.

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 ...