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The couple, who have been fighting for their rights for 23 years
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The couple had tied the knot six years ago at a Hindu temple, with a priest performing the rituals in the presence of their friends and family
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) Nepal’s first gay couple,Surendra Pandey and Maya Gurung, made history on Wednesday officially register their marriage. The couple, who have been fighting for their rights for 23 years, celebrated their milestone in the mountainous region west of Kathmandu, the capital of the Himalayan nation.
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 municipality office in the Lumjung district in west Nepal, an official said.
They were accompanied by Sunil Babu Pant, a former lawmaker and a prominent LGBTQ+ activist who came out as gay in 2007. Pant said he was proud of the historic achievement and hoped it would inspire other gay couples in Nepal and Asia to pursue their happiness.
Nepal is one of the few Asian countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2008 that ordered the government to enact laws to protect the rights of sexual minorities. However, the implementation of the ruling has been slow and faced many challenges from conservative groups and political parties.
Earlier this year, Nepal’s supreme court issued an interim order enabling the registration of same-sex marriages for the first time.
The couple had faced legal hurdles to register their marriage, as officials had turned down their request. They and Pant had appealed to the Kathmandu District Court and High Court, but both courts had dismissed their cases.
However, this week, the Home Ministry amended the procedure to allow all local administration offices to register same-sex marriages, according to Pant.
“We were pleasantly surprised by this unexpected change,” Pant said over the phone from the village where the couple planned to celebrate later that day.
The couple had tied the knot six years ago at a Hindu temple, with a priest performing the rituals in the presence of their friends and family. But they did not have a certificate to prove their marriage was legal.
Nepal has seen a significant shift in its attitude towards LGBTQ+ people since a court ruling in 2007 ordered the government to enact changes in their favour. People who do not identify as male or female can now choose “third gender” on their passports and other official documents. The constitution adopted in 2015 also explicitly prohibits any discrimination based on sexual orientation.
