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Kathmandu: A gay couple in Nepal has become the first in the nation to receive official same-sex marriage status. The Himalayan nation is one of the first in Asia to allow it.
“After 23 years of struggle we got this historic achievement, and finally Maya and Surendra got their marriage registered at the local administration office,” said Sunil Babu Pant, an openly gay former parliamentarian and leading LGBTQ+ rights activist.
Same-sex couple Surendra Pandey, right, and Maya Gurung, who got married six years ago.Credit: AP
Pant was present on Wednesday when the marriage between 36-year-old Ram Bahadur (Maya) Gurung, who was born male but identifies as female, and Surendra Pandey, 26, who was born and identifies as male, was formally registered at the Dordi rural council office in the Lumjung district in west Nepal.
“We have issued the marriage registration certificate to the couple in consideration of the Supreme Court order and instructions from relevant government authorities,” said Hem Raj Kafle, chief administrative officer in the municipality.
The couple married six years ago at a temple following Hindu tradition, with a priest conducting the rituals among friends and family. But they had no certificate showing their marriage was legal.
“We are both very happy. Like us, all others in our community are happy too,” Pandey said in a phone interview.
Same-sex couple Surendra Pandey, second left, and Maya Gurung, pose for a photograph with their marriage registration certificate at Dorje village council office in Kathmandu, Nepal.Credit: AP
Pant, who founded the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s leading gay rights organisation, said it was a victory for sexual and gender minorities who have long demanded equal rights.
“It is historic,” Pant said, noting that it was the first such registration in South Asia. “It will open the door for them to jointly open bank accounts, own and transfer property like just any other couples.”
Taiwan is the only other place to legalise same-sex marriage in Asia, where societies remain largely conservative. In Thailand, the government will take a proposed law on marriage equality to parliament next month.
Earlier this year, Nepal’s supreme court issued an interim order enabling the registration of same-sex marriages for the first time.
Officials had initially refused to register the marriage. The couple and Pant filed cases with the Kathmandu District Court and High Court, but their pleas were rejected.
According to Pant, the Home Ministry this week made changes in the process enabling all local administration offices to register same-sex marriages.
“It was quite unexpected and it was a positive breeze for us,” Pant said by phone from the village where the couple were expected to celebrate later.
Nepal has undergone a transformation since a court decision in 2007 asked the government to make changes in favour of LGBTQ+ people. People who do not identify as female or male are now able to choose “third gender” on their passports and other government documents. The Constitution adopted in 2015 also explicitly states there can be no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
AP, Reuters
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