Kathmandu, Sept 14: Sher Bahadur, a third gender individual, has died after allegedly undergoing hormone therapy. She was 31. After suffering from fever and nausea, she was initially admitted to the TU Teaching Hospital and later referred to Chirayu Hospital, but she died on the way, confirmed her roommate.
Sher Bahadur was reportedly taking hormone drugs to achieve a more feminine appearance. “She would stop and resume taking hormone medications from time to time. She had completely stopped taking the medicines for the last one year,” her roommate said, “her friends abroad would bring hormone medicines, and she would buy and eat them.”
Her parents also knew that she was taking hormone medicines and asked for a withdrawal. But, she insisted that she had stopped.
Her roommate covered the medical expenses.
“Rs 40,000 was spent on her treatment. I paid the medical bills. I lost my close friend,” said her roommate to Pahichan.
Sher Bahadur’s struggle for gender transition
Born as a male, Sher Bahadur showed the feminine traits from a young age, and often wore her sister’s clothes, which initially met with disapproval from her family. However, over time, her family began to accept her gender identity.
A permanent resident of Keshabtar in Tanahun district, Sher Bahadur, a 12th-grade graduate, moved to Kathmandu, the federal capital of Nepal, in 2066 BS with a friend, seeking better prospects. After struggling to find a stable job, she reached out to the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), a non-governmental organisation established for the rights of sexual and gender minorities.
After failing to secure a job at BDS, she entered sex work to support herself. She later called her ailing parents to Kathmandu, built a hut in her uncle’s land for them, and shared an apartment with her friend in Samakhusi, Kathmandu.
She paid her mother’s house expenses with the incomes she earned from sex work, but she kept her profession a secret from her parents, telling them she worked for BDS.
After moving to Kathmandu, she also began identifying as a third gender female and adopted the name, Christina.
Sher Bahadur is survived by her parents and a brother while her sister passed away two years ago. As the elder child, she had the responsibility to take care of her parents.
Concerns about gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy and associated health risks
Three other SGM members have died within six months after undergoing hormone therapy, it has been reported.
SGM community members say that some SGM members are opting for gender reassignment surgery or hormone therapy for their gender transition despite the associated health risks. SGM organisations like BDS are accused of promoting these treatments despite the law not legalising them.
The Family Planning Association of Nepal had been running a hormone clinic in collaboration with BDS and Mitini Nepal, but the clinic was shut following investigations into its illegal operations.
Meanwhile, the SGM community has criticised BDS for extravagantly organising an event on the occasion of Teej, a festival especially observed by Hindu women, while Sher Bahadur’s family struggles with her medical expenses.
BDS spent over Rs 1.2 million on the event, a source claimed.
