History has been made in India after a transgender candidate won a mayoral election in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh Municipal Corporation. Independent candidate Madhu Kinnar defeated her opposition by 4357 votes on 4 January, beating the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Mahaveer Guruji to become mayor of Raigarh.

The win is a historic occasion for the LGBT population in Raigarh, which lies west of the India-Bangladesh border. However homosexuality still remains a criminal offence in India, with those caught in sexual acts imprisoned. Read More