Who Is Tashi Choden Chombal? First Queer Model To Win Title Of Miss Bhutan

Tashi Choden Chombal, the fashion model, was announced as the winner of Miss Bhutan 2022. She will represent Bhutan at Miss Universe 2022, making her the country’s first queer beauty queen to do so.

The 23-year-old was crowned Miss Bhutan 2022 and will be representing her country at Miss Universe 2022. During the competition for Miss Bhutan, Chombal competed against 24 other contestants. Sonam Pelden was the first runner-up and Eden Zangmo was the second runner-up. The national beauty pageant was aired on June 4 on Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS).

Who is Tashi Choden Chombal?

• Tashi Choden Chombal was born in Nagaland to her Bhutanese mother and Tibetan father. After her parents passed away when she was 14 years of age, she was taken in by her maternal aunt and grandmother in Wangdue, Bhutan.
• Chombal described the transition period to The Bhutanese as difficult and said that as the eldest sibling, she had to “pick up the pieces and make it work, and be an example”.
• A year after the death of her parents, when Chombal was 15, she landed her first modelling job. Since then, the fashion model has competed in several beauty pageants.
• Chombal competed at Miss Citadel Pune 2017 and was the first runner-up to Priya Singh.
• In 2018, Chombal participated in Miss Asia 2018 and represented Bhutan. She competed against 24 contestants and was awarded Miss Congeniality.
• Chombal competed against 26 candidates in the Miss Supermodel Worldwide 2019. She represented Bhutan and was placed in the Top 15.
• On June 2, 2021, International Pride Day, Chombal came out to her family. When speaking to The Bhutanese, Chombal said that she initially came out as bisexual on Facebook. After doing research “I realised that I am actually a woman comfortable in my body and attracted to other women”.
• Chombal described her family as very conservative and said that her maternal aunt and grandmother had strong reactions to her coming out. After a few months, they accepted Chombal’s sexuality.
• Chombal will represent Bhutan at Miss Universe 2022, the date and venue for the event have not been announced yet.

Suggested Reading: Who Is Sargam Koushal? Mumbai Woman Crowned As Winner of Mrs India World 2022