On August 25th, Kathmandu, Nepal will hold the nation’s first Gay Pride parade, says Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first publicly gay lawmaker and a leading gay rights activist in South Asia.
Pant said he hopes up to 3,000 gays, lesbians, transvestites and transsexuals from Nepal and neighboring countries will march through the streets of the capital Kathmandu on August 25. The date has been chosen to coincide with a centuries-old Hindu festival when Nepalese men traditionally dress up in women’s clothing, and which has in recent years been adopted by Nepal’s increasingly vocal gay community.
‘We want to make this a truly international event,’ said Pant.’ ‘Nepal has made so much progress on gay issues in the last few years, and we hope to spread hope and inspire others.’
The parade will feature live music and include elephants and horses dressed in bright colors, and will culminate with a candle-lit memorial service for victims of HIV and violence.
Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay MP
Photo Credit: Blue Diamond Society
This is progress on hyper speed for a country that only decriminalized homosexuality in December 2007. (That ruling, by the Nepali Supreme Court, also brought recognition of transgendered individuals as a “third sex”.) Less than a year later on November 18, 2008, the Supreme Court directed the government to enact laws granting equal rights to LGBT citizens, including same-sex marriage. The court ordered the government to form a seven member committee to formulate laws similar to European countries that recognize same-sex marriage. The constitution of Nepal, which is expected to be completed in May of 2011, will include same-sex marriage and protection for sexual minorities.
Pant, apparently a very busy man, is also a leading advocate of making Nepal a new LGBT tourism destination and the founder and chairman of Pink Mountain Travels & Tours, which is welcoming gay, lesbian, and transgendered tourists into Nepal with open arms, showing what a LGBT friendly country Nepal can be and, of course, showing off his beautiful country at the top of the world.
The website is very new, so keep checking back as they develop more. http://www.pinkyatra.com/
It’s the dawn of a new age for Nepal and LGBT people in South Asia, so grab your hiking boots and make a visit to the gay-friendliest place in all the Himalayas.
