Beyond the Binary

Introduction 

Nepal is considered one of the most inclusive Asian countries for the LGBTIQA+ community as per the LGBT Equality Index conducted by Equaldex. 

Nepal ranks 28 in the World Equality Index which is ahead of many prominent Western democracies. 

The key religions of Nepal are Hinduism, and Buddhism both are not perceived as homophobic. In fact the various gods and goddesses are associated with the LGBTIQA+ community. 

The oldest Indian religious text Vedas mentions gods such as Mitra and Varuna, who are perceived as a gay couple and described in Shathapatha Bhramin. 

In Nepal, the Bungadyo (commonly known as Macchendranath) is considered both male and female, and all rituals from the birth of both male and female are performed for the god. 

However, as Nepal accepted Western standards, the country became close-minded and laws were implemented against the Community. 

In the 1960s Nepal introduced a clause forbidding unnatural sex which would mean the system legally opposed same-sex relationships. 

Beginning of the Revolution 

Sunil Babu Pant who received an international education, returned to Nepal in 1999.  

Being gay and understanding the problem of the gay community he founded the Blue Diamond Society (BDS) in 2001. It started monitoring and reporting Human Rights abuses and instituted the human rights training program.  

In 2004, a private lawyer filed a case to shut down BDS, which turned out to be a much harder task due to Nepali law. 

Then, in 2008, Sunil Babu Pant and BDS campaigned for the Communist Party of Nepal (United) and quickly became Asia’s first openly gay federal-level elected official.

In 2005, BDS helped the case of a lesbian couple. Meera was being forced to marry a man and wanted to attempt suicide. She ran away with her girlfriend Laxmi and ended up in the capital, Kathmandu. 

Kathmandu District Administration Office (DAO) was willing to hear her case but legally only the opposite gender was allowed to marry- their case wasn’t heard. 

After all the malicious threats Laxmi received, she turned her anguish to positive actions and opened Mitini Nepal. A women empowerment organization focusing on the LBT community.  

Generally, conservative parties are perceived as anti-queer. Strangely, in 2013, Laxmi became a candidate for the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, a right-wing party that intended to revive the Nepali monarchy. 

In 2007, BDS went to the Supreme Court and fought the government on the grounds of discriminatory laws which the BDS won and the government accepted the ruling that brought Sunil to the attention of Kathmandu’s political world. 

Present Scenario

A few years ago, Sunil Pant established Nepal's first gay travel agency Pink Mountain, and in June 2011, a lawyer and college professor from Denver, Colorado got married in Kathmandu in the Hindu-Nepalese tradition. 

Nepal has come a long way, and in 2024, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled in favor of same-sex marriage and made another landmark decision making Nepal once again a pioneer of gender equality. Happy Pride Month!!!!