Gay Nepal News & Reports 2010

by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
Nepal is set to legalise gay marriage later this year and will celebrate the change by promoting the country as the gay tourism capital of Asia. Last year, the Supreme Court approved same-sex marriage and the government is expected to begin drafting a law allowing in in the coming months. Next month, a conference will be held to discuss how the country can attract more gay couples.

The country’s only out gay MP Sunil Babu Pant, has launched a travel company called Pink Mountain which will offer wedding ceremonies at the base of Everest and processions on elephant-back. He believes Nepal’s economy could see a substantial boost if the country can attract ten per cent of global gay tourism. Pant, a hero to many gay activists worldwide, told the Daily Telegraph: "Most Asian countries don’t welcome gay visitors, so we can have the maximum benefit for the Nepal economy which is fragile after years of war. He added that the government had a target of increasing the number of tourists from 400,000 to one million in the coming year.

Nepal was once strongly conservative and gays in the Himalayan kingdom previously suffered persistent persecution from security forces during the absolutist rule of King Gyanendra. The harassment of lesbian, gay and trans people continued at the hands of Maoist rebels. Until 2007, homosexuality was illegal in the country but the past few years have seen profound changes for gay rights.

2010 January 25 – Republica

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Sexual Minorities Still Struggling In Nepal

by Damakant Jayshi
Nepal’s a curious case when it comes to recognizing and protecting sexual minorities’ fundamental rights. It is the first country in South Asia (India is the other one) in deciding that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and inter-sex individuals (LGBTIs) are natural people and entitled to all fundamental rights as Nepali citizens. However, due to lack of proper sensitization of the bureaucracy and the debate (albeit a hushed one) over “natural-unnatural” aspect of sex, this momentous decision has been reduced to paper.

Those working in the field of sexual minorities’ rights often complain about the attitude of government officials (and others as well) toward LGBTIs. There is smirk on their faces; more questions, often humiliating and uncomfortable ones, are asked and various reasons cited for not adhering to the apex court’s orders on granting citizenship as per their status. The sad part is that even those who are aware of, and fight for, an individual’s fundamental human rights find it difficult to accept the LGBTIs as natural human beings.

This is surprising considering that Nepal has been on the forefront of recognizing sexual minorities as natural human beings, and crucially important, as citizens. Chanda Musalman, a 48-year old, was issued a citizenship certificate, not as ‘male’ or female’, but as both in Banke district in early Feb 2007. Later that year, on Dec 21, the Supreme Court ordered that lLGBTIs are natural people and hence should be entitled to all fundamental rights as Nepali citizens.

A year later the court again directed the government to form a committee to study the possibility of recognizing same-sex marriages. Since the SC order of 2007, sex between same-sex couples has been officially decriminalized. (The emphasis is deliberate as in practice discrimination and stigma abound.) Pretty impressive stuff, if one just looks at this statistics. There is the other side as well and it is not pretty at all.

Khushi Gurung, 21, leads a miserable life in Pokhara after her parents abandoned her. A story by my colleague in Republica on Jan 18 tries to capture her pain. Born a boy, Khushi says she developed a girl’s behavior. “My parents forced me out of house by putting pressure on me to lead a life of a normal boy,” she shared her pain at a function on the rights of the third gender in the city recently.

Another colleague filed a story, published in Republica on Dec 20 last year. Arati Shrestha, 19, from Kanchanpur district was also thrown out of house for refusing to marry as per her parents’ wishes. She too was born a boy but started behaving like a girl. This was too much for her parents in a conservative society like ours. She is now taking shelter in Nepalgunj after brief stays in Dhangadhi and Mahendranagar.

Sunil Babu Pant, a Constituent Assembly member and founder and director of Blue Diamond Society which works for the rights of the sexual minority in Nepal, rues that despite the Supreme Court decisions, discrimination against sexual minorities has continued. He accuses Home Minister Bhim Rawal of not being very supportive of the LGBTIs rights. The district administration offices (DAOs) across the country – which work under the home minister – are still reluctant to issue citizenship cards under “tesro lingi" (third gender).

Rawal, on the other hand, denies being an obstacle to sexual minority groups and violating the apex court order. “No one can violate the SC order,” he told this writer. Rawal’s interpretation of the SC order is that the highest court of the land has not categorically ruled to issue citizenship under transgender category. Among the people calling shots in Nepal, Rawal’s discomfort is shared by many other “natural” people.

In January 2007, Dev Gurung, the then Minister for Local Development, had said, “Homosexuality is a product of capitalism. Under socialism this kind of problem does not exist!” Two months later, his party and cabinet colleague Hisila Yami was not as harsh as Gurung. She said, “…don’t punish homosexuals, but we also don’t encourage homosexual behavior”.

While the fight for right is an ongoing battle, there’s another serious dimension to the sexual minorities. It is that of survival. While homosexuals, so long as they are not out in the open do not have problem in getting education or employment (of course there are exceptional cases), the transgender face a totally different world. They say that since they are born as male (or female) and behave as the opposite sex, they are ridiculed and shunned. More serious is lack of access to health centers.

At a workshop on MSM, sexual minorities, sexual diversity, human rights and HIV in Colombo, Sri Lanka in late November, some startling data was shared by the organizers – UNDP, Naz Foundation International and the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health. Prevalence of HIV among the MSM (men who have sex with men) was rising on an alarming note, particularly in Thailand and Burma. According to the statistics, 30 percent each of the MSM in Bangkok (Thailand) and Yangon (Myanmar) have been detected with HIV. The figures are 15 percent in parts of India and more than 5 percent in Beijing.

While no specific data on HIV prevalence among MSMs in Nepal was available, the rise of the HIV infection in countries close to Nepal is something that cannot be ignored. There is more awareness about HIV and AIDS in Nepal and people do visit health centers and hospitals more freely than in the past. But cases like Mansara BK’s do happen. According to Dec 2, 2009 edition of Annapurna Post newspaper, this 30-year old woman was thrown out of her village in Santada in remote Achham district for being HIV positive.

Minority sexual rights activists say MSM have problems in having access to health centers due to the stigma attached with their status. With a data showing number of MSM on the rise in Kathmandu (and in Bangladesh), it is possible that HIV among them could be on the rise too. We can tackle the HIV among them. But for that we must accept the sexual minorities as one amongst us – human beings.

February 02, 2010 – The Kathmandu Post

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Capital to see first LGBT Centre in region

Kathmandu – Nepal has been ahead of other South Asian countries to ensure the legal rights of sexual minorities. Now, members of the community have decided to establish a South Asian Community Centre, said to be the first of its kind in the region, in the Capital with an aim to empower and foster a sense of unity among sexual minorities.

According to Sunil Babu Pant, the first Constituent Assembly member from the community and the president of Blue Diamond Society–an organisation that works towards sexual minority rights, the centre will play a pivotal role in imparting various trainings for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals (LGBTs) so as to make them self-dependent. Despite legal rights, LGBTs in Nepal still are not socially accepted. Most are still unemployed, and some have difficulties enrolling at schools or colleges due to their sexual orientation.

According to Pant, the Centre will have all the facilities such as a health centre, a library, a theatre hall, a conference hall, shelter for needy and abandoned members, playgrounds, swimming pool, and a cafeteria with ample parking space. In this regard, Blue Diamond Society has already bought five ropanis of land in Taudaha on the outskirts of the Valley, and architectural plans for the centre are underway. A part of the funds were provided by the government.

Pant is hopeful that the centre will systematise their programmes and activities, uplift the existing status of community members, provide temporary residence for members of the community, and ensure the privacy of members as well as social security to elderly members. The estimated budget for the centre stands at Rs. 24.5 million. “There is no way to wait for government assistance. We will reach out to potential donors,” said Pant. In addition, the government has also pledged to provide assistance to make the plan successful.

Blue Diamond Society plans to complete the construction of the centre within three years.

February 26,2010 – The Kathmandu Post

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17 Tibetans land in police net

Dolakha: Police detained 17 Tibetans, including 10 women, while they were sneaking into Nepal through the Nepal-China border at Lamabagar in Dolakha district on Thursday. Police said the Tibetans, who were without travel documents, were on their way to India’s Dharamshala to meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The Tibetans will be handed over to the Department of Immigration in Kathmandu on Monday and will face either deportation to Tibet or imprisonment in the country. In the last couple of weeks, police have arrested more than 50 Tibetans for entering Nepal illegally. Only last Saturday, police arrested four Tibetans while they were crossing into Nepal through the Tibet-Nepal border in Dolakha.

Pressure on PM to expedite West Seti
Kathmandu: A delegation from the Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC), Australia, met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Friday and discussed ways to expedite the West Seti Hydropower Project. The delegates suggested the prime minister to do his bit to speed up work on the project, saying this will draw more investors to Nepal, according to FNCCI Chairman Kush Kumar Joshi, who was also present at the meeting.

NPC to launch three-year plan
Kathmandu: The National Planning Commission (NPC) is all set to launch a three-year plan with the focus on poverty alleviation and establishment of sustainable peace. The plan aims to help achieve Millennium Development Goals within 2015. NPC officials informed at a programme in the Capital on Friday that the focus will be on building physical infrastructure for economic development, strengthening federal units, good governance and prompt service delivery.

Eight transgenders join UML
Kathmandu: Political parties in Nepal seem to be getting friendly and welcoming with sexual minorities in recent days. A few months after Bhumika Shreshta, a transsexual, joined the Nepali Congress, the ruling CPN-UML welcomed eight sexual minorities in. UML Vice Chairman Ashok Rai welcomed them amid a function at party headquarters in Balkhu on Friday. Rai said they would be recognised as zonal committee members. Newly joined UML activists include Sandhya Lama, Badri Pun, Suman Chepang, Bishnu Chepang, Sumit Paudel, Raju Silwal and Sthapa Chaudhary. “We are quite happy with your entry into our party,” said Aasta Laxmi Shakya, a UML politburo member. “Your entry will be easier in mainstreaming your agenda as well.” UML leaders KP Sharma Oli, Binda Paney and Rai were also present at the function.

Japan, Vietnam jaunt for lawmakers
Kathmandu: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is conducting a dialogue-programme titled “State Building: Growth and Development” to be hosted in Japan and Vietnam from Sunday to March 10. The programme, which is intended for policy makers and high-level government officials of Nepal aims to provide ideas through observation of the success of Japan and Vietnam in economic and development strategies. “The programme is organised in a way that will be informative as well as interactive,” said Noriaki Niwa, Chief Representative of JICA-Nepal. The participants include 19 CA members, representatives from CA secretariat, National Planning Commission member and officials from Finance Ministry and JICA.

Kirats press for autonomous state
Kathmandu: Wallo Kirat Federal State Council (WKFSC) on Friday warned of stern protest if the government failed to declare a Wallo Kirat Autonomous State. At a press meet in Kathmandu, the council’s leaders flayed the Committee for State Restructuring and Devolution of State Power’s proposal for Sunkoshi Federal State along with 14 federal and 23 autonomous states. WKFSC President Mana Prasad Sunuwar said if the government failed to declare a separate Wallo Kirat Autonomous State on the basis of Kirat communities’ geographic, cultural and linguistic bases, they would hit the streets. (PR)

February 27, 2010 – Vimeo

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Beauty and Brains – 2 min trailer

by Catherine Donaldson
To be third-gender in Nepal means a choice of three careers; giving blessing at weddings, begging or prostitution. They are excluded from family and school, are prey to security forces, blackmail and sexual abuse. However, as Nepal attempts to write a new constitution there is a chance of change. In order to be heard above the clamour and civil unrest, the third-genders with Sunil Pant and the Blue Diamond Society embarked on the Beauty and Brains Talent Contest. This is the story of a community gaining the confidence to confront prejudice and tell society they are natural human beings.

March 15, 2010 – The New York Times

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Nepal to Offer Everest Weddings to Attract More Gay Tourists

by Associated Press
Nepal plans to offer same-sex couples the possibility of getting married at the Everest base camp and of honeymooning on a Himalayan trek or adventure tour. But the country also wants a chunk of the multibillion-dollar gay tourist market.

Tourism is one of the main drivers of the Nepalese economy, and the government hopes to double the number of visitors next year to one million. ‘‘They are high-spending consumers,’’ a spokesman for the Nepal Tourism Board said of gay tourists. A growing segment of the gay tourism market craves adventure travel and exotic locations, especially to places seen as hospitable to gay travelers, said John Tanzella of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.

March 2010 – Nepal News

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Nepal: one nation, a hundred languages, three genders

by David Gestoso
A story about the struggle and hardship faced by an individual in quest for an identity Could you ever imagine being a prisoner of your own body and mind? What would you do, if at birth, you were assigned a body that didn’t match with your true gender? What would you do to come to terms with it? And, how would you deal with all these issues while society unjustly punished you for it? Sandhya says her friends have accepted her and feel proud that she is fighting for her identity. Such was the dilemma of Sandhya Tamang. On the surface, she is a perfectly normal, happy 21 year-old girl, however, it hasn’t always been this way.

Born in Hetauda, Makawampur, as a boy, Sandhya spent the best part of her childhood in her village as an unhappy, repressed and lonely child, trapped in a body that didn’t match her gender. By her mid-teens, such was her discontent, that she took the decision to leave behind the school bullying she had been enduring for years, family unacceptance and the deep-rooted social stigmas embedded in Nepalese rural society, and left for Kathmandu, and she’s never looked back. Gone are the days of discontent. Now, her life has been completely transformed: besides working as a part-time model, she works as a councilor and an HIV ambassador for Nepal’s pioneering Gay Rights NGO: the Blue Diamond Society (BDS).

I meet Sandhya in the dining area of a busy Indian restaurant on Lazimpat Road. Dressed in black trousers, a tight white top with a chest silver buckle and sporting a red handbag and mobile phone in her hand, she sits with poise at the table. Her thin figure, long black hair, tanned skin, thin shaped eyebrows and long eyelashes, exude an exotic beauty. At first glance, Sandhya, who declines to give her former name, discarding it as part of her unhappy past, seems slightly shy, but it doesn’t take her long to feel comfortable and chatty.

Although she eagerly admits to being very happy these days with her new gender identity, she still remembers, with a combination of pain and pride, the lonely road and complex transition periods she had to overcome in her short life to reach this point: from having to come to terms with her gender identity at a very young age, followed by a stage of self-denial, and, finally, her entry into ‘womanhood’.

She recalls: “I first realised something was different at a very young age. When I was a child, I wanted to wear ladies’ dresses and play with the girls. Though I was a male, at the school playground, I wanted to hang around with the girls, instead of playing football with the boys.”

“I think I was born that way,” she says emphatically, trying to dispel the myth that to be transgender is a fashion. “It happens naturally in our brain. Growing up, I felt a female and all the activities I took part in were female activities,” she explains. “At some point, I tried hard to be a boy, I thought I could maybe change my behaviour, but I just couldn’t. My brain told me so and then my heart followed. I think, whatever you are, cannot be changed.”

“But now, I feel very happy because I finally know who I am, I have my gender identity. I can now do what I want and express how I feel. However,” she says with a bit of gloom in her eyes, “sometimes I feel sad in my personal life because boyfriends accept me at the beginning, but then, because of family pressures, they eventually leave me.” The acceptance of family and friends were arguably two of the most difficult and painful hurdles Sandhya had to overcome in her quest for an identity.

“My family realised that while growing up I behaved like a girl, but they are not educated people so they couldn’t understand. These days, they’re more understanding and accepting, but, yet, whenever I tell them that one day I’d like to get married, they dismiss me by saying that no boy will ever want to marry me.”

“My friends have also accepted me. They told me they felt very proud about me because I was fighting for my identity. Even some of the people who used to tease me at school have now changed their attitude and become more supportive,” says the 21-year-old, pride written all over her face.

“On the other hand, they always warn me and tell me that I need to think about the future. They think it’s just a phase because I’m young, suggesting that one day I’ll switch back to being a boy. I have to explain to them that my feelings come from the heart,” she adds, defiantly.

Read Article

April 21, 2010 – PinkNews

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Nepal to host gay weddings on Everest

by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
The Asian country of Nepal aims to hold gay weddings on Everest as part of its plans to reinvent itself as a gay-friendly tourism destination. The country, which criminalised homosexuality until 2007, has undergone profound changes in the last few years and its only out gay MP Sunil Babu Pant is spearheading new equality laws.

Tourism minister Sharat Singh Bhandari told The Times: “We’re completely changing this country. It’s a newborn republic — and we want to showcase this change "We also want to re-establish tourism as a major industry.”

Last October, Mr Bhandari took the unprecedented step of writing a letter to the International Conference On Gay and Lesbian Tourism in Boston. He wrote: "As the world knows, Nepal is the land of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak and the birth place of Lord Buddha, light of Asia. I, therefore, would like to take this opportunity to invite and welcome all the sexual and gender minorities from around the world."

Tourism bosses in Nepal hope to attract one million tourists a year, up from 400,000 currently. They are already discussing the prospect of holding gay weddings at the base of Everest and giving gay couples the chance to enjoy their honeymoons with tours on elephant-back. The country is drawing up a new constitution which will enshrine gay rights, while a law allowing gay marriage is being considered.

05 May 2010 – UNESCO

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Peer and outreach education for improving sexual health of men who have sex with men

This manual helps peer educators and outreach workers working with men who have sex with men sustain and update their knowledge about HIV/STI and sexual health issues. It provides detailed information about everything a peer or outreach worker may be asked about during his work. It aims to improve the scope and accuracy of information that peer and outreach workers provide to their target audience.

The manual was translated and adapted into Nepali by UNESCO Office in Kathmandu.

Dowonload pdf (2.29 mb)

July 05, 2010 – The Kathmandu Post

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Men at work

by Bisika Thapa
I offer my services to clients, just like any other profession. And I’m proud of what I do,” Hassan (name changed) said unabashedly as he spoke to the South Asian audience of HIV/AIDS professionals. In the next thirty minutes, Hassan talked of his early life and traced his social and psychological journey to becoming a male sex worker (MSW), now living a healthy life—with HIV.

After a decade of being childless, his parents finally had Hassan. Naturally, he was treated delicately and with much affection, his parents sometimes becoming overprotective of their only child. Hassan recalled being discouraged from playing with other children too long and older boys in the neighborhood often poking fun at what they called his “effeminate plumpness”. He was a socially withdrawn boy and felt that he led, in retrospect, a relatively insular life as a child. Advancing into puberty, he began to feel attracted to other males and enjoyed the sexual innuendos flung at him. He would visit local parks and beaches to get picked up by men “cruising” for sex at such places. When he received what was to him a hefty sum of Rs. 50 from one of his sexual partners, Hassan realized that this pleasure seeking act could fetch him money—loads more than what his father, an impoverished rickshaw driver in a Karnataka town, had ever been able to provide. (Karnataka is among the high HIV prevalence states in India.) Without a decent education, Hassan’s prospects at making a good living were, to him, not very bright. “If this is who I am, then at least I can transform my identity into a profession and consider it as providing a service that has high demand and good pay.” With these thoughts, he decided to become a full time sex worker. Along the way, Hassan contracted HIV. But with the help of a local NGO providing health and HIV related services for men who have sex with men (MSM), including male and transgender sex workers, he was able to get the care, support and medical treatment to live healthily despite his HIV infection. Hassan still continues his profession with dignity and pride, coupling it with his staunch advocacy for the rights of male and transgender sex workers.

Hassan’s story can make many feel uncomfortable in their seats. Several unconventional issues with stringent legal, social, and moral policing around them converge in his narrative. Most prominent among them is that he provides sexual services to other men. Sex work has traditionally been viewed as the province of women and people are not accustomed to thinking of men inhabiting that domain except exclusively as clients. But sex work (i.e., paid sex, either in cash or as gifts) by men, for men has existed since Greco-Roman times. In Asia, there is much ancient literature chronicling the practice and prevalence of male sex work in countries like Japan and India, for instance. Yet, the notion of men selling sex is an inconceivable reality in most societies. This is because “sex selling” is understood, by and large, in terms of power dynamics where the party with lesser socio-economic strength and stability may have little other recourse than to succumb. The vulnerability of that party is further exacerbated by its lack of access to proper education and other forms of social and personal empowerment. Women have traditionally occupied that lower status making them more likely to take up or be forced into “selling sex”. That status of women has not changed much, globally. The power dynamics stretch beyond the socio-economic to the most primitive and enduring perception of women as biologically inferior to men. This perception fuels the thinking that it is those who are physically weaker and prone to subjugation who sell sex and those who are physically more powerful and capable of subjugation who buy sex. Men are perceived as being incapable of occupying the space of the subjugated and the idea of sex selling by men seems therefore like an aberration dismissed with discomfort.

But here’s the reality check. Many men and boys from economically disadvantaged communities who venture into large cities and engage in menial jobs with long hours and low pay face sexual abuse and exploitation by their male employers. Many then decide, as Hassan put it, “to sell sex out of choice as a service because they think that if I am to be abused wherever I work, why not turn it into something where I have control over it?” Sex work therefore becomes a means of economic survival, especially for those without any form of social protection—such as garbage picking boys on the streets of Karachi, or young transgendered people at busy crossroads in Kathmandu, or male migrant workers with no other job opportunities in cosmopolitan Mumbai, or adolescent opium users in the alleys of Kabul. Irrespective of the different contexts where sex work by males (and transgender people) occurs, what is common is the considerable marginalization they face from stigma at multiple levels—related to sex between men, sex work, gender identity and, in some cases HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

Many men enter sex work with little or no knowledge of safe sexual practices (e.g., consistent and correct use of condoms, using lubricants, trying alternative non-penetrative sex), thus increasing their risk to contracting HIV and STIs. Hassan was fortunate to receive the right interventions at the right time. Not everyone is that lucky. Homophobia, stigma and discrimination, and criminalization of same-sex behavior (and sex work) in many South Asian countries obstruct their access to sexual and reproductive health and HIV information, services and support. “Why would men need sexual and reproductive health rights anyway?” you may ask. Well, that’s because sexual rights are human rights and everyone—regardless of gender, sex, sexuality, or HIV status—has those rights. Most health facilities in South Asia cater to women’s reproductive health and grossly overlook the reality that improving the sexual and reproductive health of men will have a significant effect on those of their sexual partners. Many male sex workers also have wives or female partners whom they put at greater risk for HIV/STIs if they are themselves unaware of safe sexual practices or are HIV positive. If empowered with access to such services, these men can contribute to reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

You may have noticed that I have used the term “sex work” rather than “prostitution”, which is a highly disempowering terminology. “Sex work”, preferred in the HIV/AIDS discourse, is more laden with a rights based approach where the business of selling sex is a kind of work just like any other. Since reducing the demand side of sex work has proven to be an impractical and insurmountable task the world over, the most pragmatic and human rights based thing to do is to ensure that those providing such services are doing it safely, both for themselves and those they serve. As one transgender sex worker from Malaysia put it at an Asia-Pacific regional conference of HIV/AIDS, “Don’t tell me to quit my work and weave baskets or learn to sew. Tell me what kind of health services are available for me and people like me. Teach me to be healthy.”

(The author is a psychologist and HIV/AIDS professional, based in Kathmandu and working in South Asia)

July 28, 2010 – PinkNews

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Nepal to hold first gay Pride march

by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
Nepal’s only out gay MP has said that his country will hold its first Pride march this year. Sunil Pant told AFP that he hopes 3,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people will join the event, to be held on August 25th in the capital Kathmandu.

The date coincides with a traditional festival in which men dress up as women. The festival has been adopted by gay groups in recent years. Mr Pant, who is his country’s best-known gay campaigner, said: "We want to make this a truly international event. "Nepal has made so much progress on gay issues in the last few years, and we hope to spread hope and inspire others."

The country only decriminalised homosexuality in 2007 but Mr Pant is credited with turning around its attitude to LGBT issues. Gay rights are expected to be enshrined in Nepal’s constitution, while a gay marriage law is being considered. Earlier this year, tourism bosses announced that they hoped to attract one million tourists a year, up from 400,000 currently. They are already discussing the prospect of holding gay weddings at the base of Everest and giving gay couples the chance to enjoy their honeymoons with tours on elephant-back.

August 20, 2010 – PinkNews

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British man in Nepal’s first foreign gay marriage ceremony

by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
A foreign gay couple had a gay marriage ceremony in Nepal this week. Sanjay Shah, a British man from Leicester, married an Indian man who did not want to be named in a ceremony on Tuesday evening. The couple’s wedding was organised by gay group Blue Diamond Society, run by Nepal’s best-known gay activist, MP Sunil Pant. The group arranged for them to have a marriage certificate and to have the ceremony blessed by a Hindu priest.

Although Nepal does not yet recognise same-sex marriage, wedding ceremonies performed by priests are usually accepted in society. The country is expected to enshrine gay rights in its new constitution and may also legalise marriage for gay couples. The couple married near a Hindu temple in Kathmandu and a report from the Hindustan Times said that they were forced to marry in another country after threats from their relatives. They told the newspaper they met in the UK and would take a honeymoon in India before returning to Britain.

Mr Pant, who has been working to advertise Nepal as a gay-friendly destination, said that Blue Diamond Society was receiving a number of wedding queries from gay couples, including gay Indian prince Manvendra Singh Gohil. He added that he had heard of other gay couples in the country being married by priests, although this was the first foreign gay wedding for the country. On August 25th, 3,000 people are expected to join Nepal’s first Pride march in Kathmandu.

August 26, 2010 – PinkNews

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Nepal holds first gay Pride parade

by Christopher Brocklebank
Hundreds attended Nepal’s first ever gay Pride procession yesterday in the country’s capital, Kathmandu. Despite heavy rain, a crowd of young men and women in colourful costumes and masks marched through the city in a display of Pride. The celebrations coincided with Gai Jatra, a historical festival held in memory of the recently deceased, in which participants also dress up and parade through the streets.

Back in 2001, Sunil Pant, Nepal’s only openly gay MP and head of the Blue Diamond Society, the country’s pioneering gay rights organisation, made the decision to use the Gai Jatra festival to encourage Nepalese LGBT people to walk in public without hiding their sexual identity. At that parade, LGBT participants hid their faces behind masks for fear of being identified, but things were different yesterday.

Mr Pant said: "From this year, our march has become internationalised. We have the support of the Irish parliament, the American ambassador to Nepal, Scott DeLisi, has sent a message of solidarity and the march saw the participation of the British ambassador, John Tucknott. "Thousands of gays die worldwide every year, some of natural causes, some due to AIDS/HIV and many due to violence. In Nepal, there were 10 known deaths last year. But no one remembers them. Our gay parade ends with a candle-light vigil in memory of those who died last year. This is about equality for all."

Last week saw Nepal’s first foreign gay "wedding", also in Kathmandu, between a British man and his Indian partner. Although there are no laws legalising same sex marriages in Nepal, marriages conducted by priests are generally accepted by Nepalese society.

30 August 2010 – The Telegraph

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British expat makes history with first foreign gay marriage in Nepal – A British expat has become the first foreigner to marry another man in Nepal.

by Leah Hyslop
Sanjay Shah, originally from Leicester, married an Indian man who did not want to be named in a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital earlier this month. Though Nepal does not yet recognise same-sex marriage, ceremonies performed by priests are generally accepted. The wedding was organised by LGBT group the Blue Diamond society, and happened just a few days before Nepal’s first gay pride march, which was attended by an estimated 2000 people.

According to the website Pink News, the pair met in the UK, and plan to return to Britain after a honeymoon in India. Nepal’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of gay rights in 2008, but has yet to enact an appropriate law. The government is also expected to legalise same-sex marriage when gay rights are eventually incorporated into the constitution. The drive to end discrimination is supported by government officals who think gay tourists could bring money to the economy.

Nepal’s best-known gay activist, MP Sunil Pant, has even established a tour company, Pink Mountain, which caters to gay tourists looking to marry or honeymoon in the Himalayas. "Most Asian countries don’t welcome gay visitors, so we can have the maximum benefit for the Nepal economy which is fragile after years of war," he said.

15 September 2010 – Fridae

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Sunil Pant and dozens of LGBT activists arrested in Nepal

by News Editor
Openly gay lawmaker Sunil Pant and dozens of LGBT activists were arrested in the Nepali capital on Tuesday in a crackdown on a rally to demand government identification papers for the third sex or transgender people.

Update from Sunil Pant on Sep 16 via Facebook:
Sunil Pant and other activists on Sep 16 met with the Prime Minister who told Pant that "he would solve the Citizenship ID problem soon." He added that activists need to continue to keep up the pressure on government officials. According to media reports, some 70 LGBT activists were arrested after they entered an prohibited area while staging a protest in front of the country’s main administrative complex in the capital city of Kathmandu. They were demanding that the Home ministry issues citizenship papers to those who want their gender marked as "third sex" instead of male or female.

[The third sex includes metis who are generally defined as biological males who typically have a feminine orientation and physical appearance but may or may not wish to undergo sex realignment surgery as well as individuals whose gender identity is not fully aligned with his or her biological sex.]

In 2007, Nepal became the first country in the world to officially recognise a "third gender" following the Supreme Court’s ruling that sexual and gender minorities are "natural persons" and as such should be guaranteed the same rights as other citizens. The activists, who announced a hungerstrike, were protesting against Home Minister Bhim Rawal who, according to the activists, has refused to authorise the issuance of identity cards to the third sex despite the court ruling.

"We are running out of patience and are demanding our rights," Pant, the founder of the Blue Diamond Society, a gay rights group, was quoted as saying by India’s Deccan Herald. "We are ashamed to have a government whose minister denies citizens a legal ID, which is a fundamental right. You can’t survive in Nepal without a legal ID. Third genders can’t enrol in college, get jobs or inherit ancestral property. They can’t open a bank account or travel. Even being treated in hospital is a problem," Pant said. The activists were released on the same day at 5pm.

Reuters quoted Kathmandu police chief Ramesh Kharel as saying that the activists were detained for "violating the norms" by gathering at a place where demonstrations were not allowed. In a message to regional LGBT email groups today, Pant said he and other activists had gathered at Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s office today but were unsuccessful in seeking in a meeting, and will continue to seek an audience with the PM tomorrow. Last month, hundreds of gays, lesbians and transsexuals marched in Nepal’s ninth gay pride parade in Kathmandu.

July 05, 2010 – The Kathmandu Post

16
Men at work

Without a decent education, Hassan’s prospects at making a good living were, to him, not very bright. “If this is who I am, then at least I can transform my identity into a profession and consider it as providing a service that has high demand and good pay.” With these thoughts, he decided to become a full time sex worker. Along the way, Hassan contracted HIV. But with the help of a local NGO providing health and HIV related services for men who have sex with men (MSM), including male and transgender sex workers, he was able to get the care, support and medical treatment to live healthily despite his HIV infection. Hassan still continues his profession with dignity and pride, coupling it with his staunch advocacy for the rights of male and transgender sex workers.

This is because “sex selling” is understood, by and large, in terms of power dynamics where the party with lesser socio-economic strength and stability may have little other recourse than to succumb. The vulnerability of that party is further exacerbated by its lack of access to proper education and other forms of social and personal empowerment. Women have traditionally occupied that lower status making them more likely to take up or be forced into “selling sex”. That status of women has not changed much, globally. The power dynamics stretch beyond the socio-economic to the most primitive and enduring perception of women as biologically inferior to men. This perception fuels the thinking that it is those who are physically weaker and prone to subjugation who sell sex and those who are physically more powerful and capable of subjugation who buy sex. Men are perceived as being incapable of occupying the space of the subjugated and the idea of sex selling by men seems therefore like an aberration dismissed with discomfort.

(The author is a psychologist and HIV/AIDS professional, based in Kathmandu and working in South Asia)

2010 November 29 – MidDay

17
‘Will gay netas pleas stand up!’

by Rocky Thongam
News Delhi, LGBT parade, homosexual Nepalese, MP, sexual orientation Participating in Delhi’s LGBT parade on sunday, homosexual Nepalese MP dares his Indian counterparts to come out of the closet Sunil Babu Pant believes in setting the record straight. While participating in the Third Delhi Queer Pride Parade held yesterday, the Nepalese Member of Parliament, who is openly gay, said he wants Indian MPs to be candid about their sexual orientation.

One of the more prominent faces fighting for LGBT rights, Pant was in the country on an official visit. "But I couldn’t keep away from the parade because it is a cause I totally believe in," said the first openly gay MP of an Asian country.

Know gays aloud
The computer engineer turned politician has been fighting for LGBT rights for over a decade which finally led to Nepal becoming the first country in the world to officially recognise the third gender. "But compared to Nepal, India is still intolerant when it comes to such issues," he said, "Not only people from normal walks of life but some religious fundamentalists here are roadblocks when it comes to LGBT rights," he added.

VHP Leader, Vinod Bansal said: "Individual’s liberty is not beyond the cultural values of the country. These people who are saying that they are proud to be gay, should be asked whether they would allow the same in their families as well. Those who are violating the set principles of our predecessors would face the consequences."

Equal rights
The politician discussed issues like border security and trade with his Indian counterparts. But Pant didn’t stop at that. "I discussed LGBT issues also with Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar," he informed. "Though she didn’t give concrete comments, her listening to such issues shows silent support," he added. Pant also says that he spoke to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia on issues like setting a budget to support ‘queer’ people who are economically downtrodden. "Civil rights of property, adoption or insurance benefits are areas which are totally neglected," said Pant.

‘Just do it’
So, where does the problem lie and what is the way out? "The solution is support from society. The Nepalese media is very supportive but certain sections of Indian media are still not comfortable with the subject. And, yes politicians play a big role. It’s time gay politicos in the country came out of the closet. And they will get more votes if they do so," Pant said.

And the founder of The Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s first LGBT rights organisation, who later joined politics, believes that more and more people who are gay should join politics. "Things are changing but a lot needs to done. I informed the Indian Ministry of External Affairs that I was going to the parade lest they should have some objection but they were cool about it. So you see perspectives are changing but like I said a lot still needs to be done," he signed off.

2010 November – PubMed

18
Stigma and HIV risk among Metis in Nepal

by Wilson E, Pant SB, Comfort M, Ekstrand M.- Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, USA.

Abstract
Similar to other parts of Asia, the HIV epidemic in Nepal is concentrated among a small number of groups, including transgender people, or Metis. This study was conducted to explore the social context of stigma among Metis in Nepal to better understand their risk for HIV. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with Metis in Kathmandu, Nepal. We found that stigma from families leading to rural-urban migration exposed Metis to discrimination from law enforcement, employers and sexual partners, which influenced their risk for HIV. Specific HIV-related risks identified were rape by law enforcement officers, inconsistent condom use and high reported numbers of sexual partners. These data point to an immediate need to work with law enforcement to reduce violence targeting Metis. HIV prevention, housing and employment outreach to Metis in rural areas and those who migrate to urban areas is also needed. Finally, there is a need for more research to determine the prevalence of HIV among Metis, to explore risk within sexual networks and to better understand of the relationship between Metis and their families in order to develop future programmes and interventions.

Gay Nepal News & Reports 2010

1 Nepal to court gay tourism 1/10

2 Sexual Minorities Still Struggling In Nepal 1/10

3 Capital to see first LGBT Centre in region 2/10

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