Bhoomi Harendran
| Bhoomi Harendran | |
|---|---|
 Bhoomi Harendran.jpg | |
| Native name | භූමි හරේන්ද්රන් |
| Born | Kumudu Darshana Kumara 16 August 1990 Borella, Sri Lanka |
| Other names | Bhoomi Harendran |
| 🎓 Alma mater | D. S. Senanayake College |
| 💼 Occupation | Transgender activist, Actress |
| 🏢 Organization | National Transgender Network |
| Title | Executive Director at the National Transgender Network |
| 🏅 Awards | APCOM Hero Award (2021)
SAARC Award for Best Actor (2017) 'Kusalatha Sammanaya' (Merit Award) (2018) at the Sarasavi Film Awards for Frangipani |
Bhoomi Harendran (born Kumudu Dharshana Kumara, August 16, 1990)[1] is a Sri Lankan human rights activist, media personality, and advocate for the rights and equality of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) community in Sri Lanka.[2] She is widely recognized as one of the first openly transgender women in Sri Lanka. She is the Executive Director of the National Transgender Network of Sri Lanka and was instrumental in the establishment of the legal process for transgender people to change their gender on official documentation.[3]
Early life
Bhoomi Harendran was born on August 16, 1990[1], in Borella, Sri Lanka, as Kumudu Dharshana Kumara. From an early age she had wanted to live her life as a girl, but she came to accept herself as a transgender woman only in her 20s.[4]
She attended D.S. Senanayake College in Colombo, where she often faced bullying and harassment due to her developing gender identity. However, she found a crucial outlet by taking on female roles in college drama productions.[5][6]
After leaving school, Kumudu began her transition journey by growing her hair and nails and wearing makeup. She subsequently decided to undergo hormone treatments when she was 21, without informing her parents. Her parents had discovered her transition through an interview they saw on television. Following the discovery, she was asked to move out of the house so they wouldn’t have to bear the burden of having a transgender child. She accepted this as a "reasonable request," noting, "It’s just the way society works." Despite the initial rejection, she remains in contact with her mother. She has publicly stated that her now-deceased father was the first to accept her, followed by her mother.[4][6]
Career
Activism
Harendran is considered one of Sri Lanka's foremost human rights defenders for the LGBTIQ+ community. She is the Executive Director of the National Transgender Network of Sri Lanka, a non-governmental organization dedicated to safeguarding human rights, health, and empowerment for transgender people across the island.[3][7][8][9][10]
One of her most significant contributions is her active advocacy for the Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). This work led the Ministry of Health and the Registrar General's Department to issue circulars in 2016, which established a legal and administrative process for transgender individuals to officially change their gender and name on official documents, which was a landmark achievement. For over a decade, she has worked as an HIV activist, focusing on prevention, sexual health, and rights within key marginalized populations.[3][11][12]
She has served as a subcommittee member of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and has advocated for police reform, including the issuance of a 2022 Police Department circular providing guidelines on the appropriate treatment, searching, and detention of transgender individuals.[13] She also serves as a Brand Ambassador for Emerge Lanka, an organization dedicated to empowering survivors of abuse.[14][15]
In film and television
She is an award-winning actress, known for her role in the film Frangipani (Sayapethi Kusuma).[3][16] In 2020, she became the first openly transgender woman in Sri Lanka to host a political talk show, titled Political Katha with Bhoomi Harendran, published by the Lankadeepa newspaper.[3] She was also featured in the "Being Human" documentary series launched by Daily Mirror, in partnership with the legal pro-bono organization iProbono.[17]
Recognition
- Transgender Hero Award (2021): Adjudged the Transgender Hero at the APCOM Heroes Awards ceremony for her extensive advocacy work across the Asia-Pacific region.[18]
- First trans-identifying person to win SAARC Award for Best Actor (2017) for her role in Frangipani.[8]
- 'Kusalatha Sammanaya' (Merit Award) (2018) at the Sarasavi Film Awards for Frangipani.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 19K views · 427 reactions | Nasty Woman [Sri Lanka] On 16 August 1990, a baby boy, “Kumudu Darshana Kumara” was born to a Sri Lankan conventional family. Since the age of 5, Kumudu felt that he is different from the other boys of his age. He wanted to wear his mother’s sarees and play with dolls, while other boys of were playing cricket. Once in a while he questioned himself. He felt that he has born inside a wrong body. He begged from god to make him a girl. After schooling he attended a workshop about gender identity and sexuality. Then only he realized who he is. He decided to become who actually he wanted to be. That’s how “Bhoomi Harendran” was born. The journey of becoming a woman was not easy. She was kicked out from her home. Her mother wanted her to die. Nobody was happy to give her a job and house to stay. People use to run away by seeing her. But she didn’t give up. She started fighting for her right to be recognized as a woman. Today, she is connected with lots of human right organization and is supporting victims of gender based violence. She won the best actor award at SAARC film festival 2017. She said, “I did act in this film as a man and today I’m on the stage to take this award as a woman. This is me. I’m a woman like other woman in this world. I will continue this struggle until society accepts my inner woman." Ileka Ruwanpathirana | Tell Her Story. Retrieved 2025-12-12 – via www.facebook.com.
- ↑ Joshi, Yuvraj (2016-08-15). ""All Five Fingers Are Not the Same"". Human Rights Watch.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 MIAP (2020-07-18). "Bhoomi becomes first Transgender woman in Sri Lanka to host a political talkshow". LNW Lanka News Web. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Transgender individuals too are a creation of nature : Bhoomi". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ Star Back to School (2022-09-23). ඉස්කෝලෙ ගියේ Crush එක බලන්නමයි 🥰 | Star Back to School with Bhoomi Harendran & Ram Dulip. Retrieved 2025-12-12 – via YouTube.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Formerly a male; now a female. Bhoomi the actress of Sayapethi Kusuma who passed sexual transition period, speaks out". Gossip Lanka News [English]. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ bridgeadmin (2023-03-26). "National Transgender Network Sri Lanka (NTNSL)". Bridge to Equality. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Sympathy is not what we want: Bhoomi Harendran". Latest in the News Sphere | The Morning. 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ "A safe space for the Trans and Queer worker community - IFWEA". 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ "Destigmatising LGBTQIA+ Healthcare". Latest in the News Sphere | The Morning. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ "For 'Mind and Soul': Sri Lanka Eases Way To Legal Recognition of Transgender People". Global Press Journal. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.health.gov.lk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2025-12-12. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "EQUAL GROUND on the amended Police circular". Latest in the News Sphere | The Morning. 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ "Emerge — Bhoomi Harendran". Emerge. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ Perera, Avindi (Thursday, 4 May 2023). "In the words of Bhoomi Harendran: "We need to transform digital spaces, including laws on online violence"". UN Women. Retrieved 12/12/2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help); Check date values in:|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ "IPPF Youth Champion stars in movie | The Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka". www.fpasrilanka.org. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ "Beauty and complexity of Being Human". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ↑ Editor 7 (2021-12-02). "ආසියානු පැසිෆික් TRANSGENDER HERO සම්මානය ශ්රී ලංකාවේ භූමි හරේන්ද්රන්ට - srihanda.lk | Sri Handa News Official Web Site|Sri Lanka News|News Sri Lanka|Online Sinhala News". Retrieved 2025-12-12.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
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