Fun Fast Facts:
Updated: 24 Feb 2014 (Courts leading the way)
- On 21 December 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the new democratic government must create laws to protect LGBTIQ rights and change existing laws that are tantamount to discrimination. The Nepalese government legalised homosexuality following the end of the monarchy in 2007.
- In 2012, Nepal’s Supreme Court recognised a live-in relationship between two lesbians despite the efforts of the family of one of the women to separate them. The Court allowed Rajani Shahi to live with her partner Prem Kumari Nepali as she wished, rather than with her husband.
- In 2011, the Nepalese census conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics officially recognised a third gender in addition to male and female.
- Sunil Babu Pant is the first openly gay politician in Nepal.
- The Nepal Tourism Board announced plans to promote Nepal as a gay-friendly tourist destination.
Updated: 25 Jun 2012 (Same-sex marriage will “not be a problem” to pass)
- Homosexuality was legalised in 2007.
- Nepal has an openly gay Minister, Sunil Babu Pant.
- A same-sex marriage bill was drafted before Parliament was dissolved.
- Nepal hosted the Gay Olympic Games in October 2012.
Courts leading the way
Broadcast: 24 Feb 2014
LGBTIQ-friendly organisation: Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation
Kaleidoscope Australia is a not-for-profit organisation committed to promoting and protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in the Asia Pacific region. They work directly with local activists to enhance their capacity to combat prejudice, hostile authorities and discriminatory laws, helping them achieve the freedom and equality essential to living a life of dignity. They assist lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities in the Asia Pacific region by;
- writing independent ‘shadow’ reports for the UN Human Rights Committee’s review of states’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the UN Human Rights Council’s regular Universal Periodic Review of the human rights record of member nations.
- raising awareness of violations of their human rights through the press, social media and at conferences and events.
- connecting them with networks, resources and services in Australia and elsewhere.
- facilitating tailored training and educational materials to assist them in their important work.
W3JOY interviewed: Dr Douglas Pretsell and Dr Paula Gerber of Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation
“In fact it was the courts that put it (same-sex marriage) on the agenda and directed the government to form a committee to investigate the possibility of legislating for same-sex marriage. But, a bit like in Australia, it has come unstuck in parliament.”
“As you can imagine those reports very much give a spin pro-government. If you read the reports on Syria or Uganda or anywhere you’d think there were no human rights violations at all. So what the (UN Human Rights) Committee does to get a more balanced understanding of human rights in the country is they invite civil society, non-government organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Kaleidoscope Australia to submit what they call a shadow report. And they say ‘you give us your perspective of what is happening on the ground’.”
“I don’t think there is any country in the world that has a perfect track record with LGBT rights. There is always something that can be improved.”
“You’ve got to remember that when you are dealing with the United Nations it’s a diplomatic process as much as it is a legal one. The concluding observations that the committee comes out with aren’t just all a big stick saying ‘Nepal you must do this, you must do that’. They also praise them and recognise them for the positive steps that they have taken. We need to recognise that Nepal is being in some respects a leader in our region.”
“Do laws change culture or does culture lead to change of laws? It’s a bit of both. I think you need to have that groundswell of civic movement to get law reform and then once the laws change, it brings about further cultural reforms.”
“On the one hand you’ve got some, one might say, activist judges there who have made some wonderful decisions supporting LGBT rights but more needs to be done. And more needs to be done by Parliament. One of the things that is lacking I think is political will and once Nepal gets for example anti-discrimination laws, then we might start seeing more cultural change because people will know they are not allowed to discriminate on someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Listen to the podcast
Same-sex marriage will “not be a problem” to pass
Broadcast: 25 Jun 2012
LGBTIQ-friendly organisation: Blue Diamond Society
- Established in 2001.
- Work in Kathmandu with local communities and on a national level with the mission to improve the sexual health, human rights and well being of sexual and gender minorities.
- Includes over 350,000 third-genders, gay men, bisexuals, lesbian, and other men who have sex with men.
- Has documented and publicised violence and abuse that has included arbitrary arrests, attempted murder, rape, blackmail, and all varieties of physical and verbal abuse and discrimination in the workplace.
W3JOY interviewed: MP Sunil Babu Pant
“We have been supported by the Australian government to hold the first gay Olympic Games in Nepal.”
“The same-sex marriage bill has been drafted by the committee. We have to wait until the next parliament comes into place for the bill to pass.”
“We haven’t seen any parties opposing the same-sex marriage bill, in fact people are supportive here. We believe there will not be a problem passing the gay marriage law.”
Regarding Facebook’s refusal to recognise the third gender:
“Forcing everyone into [two] genders simply is not good…Google has already acknowledged that, Facebook must do that. We thought they would be broad-minded and inclusive, but they are not. And we were disappointed.”
“It’s very disappointing that we haven’t heard anything from the Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg.”