Nepal’s first lesbian couple officially registers marriage

This is the first lesbian couple in South Asia to officially register their marriage.

Kathmandu:

Anju Devi Shrestha (nicknamed Dipti) and Suprita Gurung, both 33 years old, made history by becoming the first lesbian couple in Nepal to officially register their marriage.

Ms. Deepti, a resident of Badia district in western Nepal, and Ms. Gurung, a resident of Syangja district, registered their marriage on Sunday in Jamuna Rural Municipality in Badia district.

Sunil Babu Panta, a gay activist and former member of parliament, said constituency secretary Dipak Nepal issued the marriage certificate to them.

Pant claimed that this was the first case of a lesbian couple in South Asia officially registering their marriage.

Nepal is also the first country in South Asia to officially register same-sex marriage.

In a statement, the NGO Mayako Pahichan Nepal (meaning “Recognition of Love”) expressed joy at the official registration of same-sex marriages.

The organization said in a statement: “The LGBT community in Nepal has launched a campaign for identity-based rights for sexual minorities since 2001, and after more than two decades of struggle, the movement has successfully made same-sex marriage official. Register.”

A press conference was organized on Monday to officially announce the first lesbian marriage and celebrate the occasion, Secretary General Surendra Pandey of Mayako Pahichan Nepal said in a statement. .

On November 29 last year, 35-year-old Maya Gurung and 27-year-old Surendra Pandey officially registered their marriage in Lamjung district, becoming the first same-sex couple.

Both Ms Gurung and Ms Pandey were born male.

This makes Nepal the first country in South Asia to officially recognize and register same-sex marriages following the Supreme Court ruling.

In 2007, Nepal’s Supreme Court had approved same-sex marriage, and the 2015 Constitution further strengthened this position, explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

However, on June 27 last year, driven by a petition led by individuals including Gurung, the Supreme Court issued an interim order officially legalizing same-sex marriage in Nepal.

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