Nepal First South Asian Country To Officially Register Same-Sex Marriage

Kathmandu: Nepal has become the first South Asian country to formally recognise same-sex marriage, reported PTI.

Transwoman Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey, a gay, had got legally married after Nepal’s Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage five months ago.

On Wednesday, their marriage was the first case in the Himalayan nation to be registered at Dordi Rural Municipality of Lamjung district in western Nepal, according to Sanjib Gurung (Pinky), president of Blue Diamond Society, an organisation working for rights and welfare of sexual minorities in Nepal.

Nepal’s Supreme Court had allowed same-sex marriage way back in 2007. The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, also states that there can’t be any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

On June 27 this year, the Supreme Court issued an interim order to legalise same-sex marriage in Nepal in a writ petition filed by several people, including Gurung.

However, Kathmandu District Court rejected the move citing a lack of necessary laws, with Surendra and Maya’s marriage application getting rejected at that time.

Surendra, from Nawalparasi district, and Lamjung district resident Maya, got married in traditional manner with their families’ approval, and have been living together as husband-wife for the last six years.

Now, their relationship has got the official stamp.

“It’s a great pleasure to learn about this, it is a great achievement for us, the third gender community of Nepal. This is the first case not only in Nepal but also in the whole of South Asia, and we welcome the decision,” Pinky said.

“Now their marriage has been temporarily registered and after the formulation of necessary laws, it will get permanent recognition automatically,” Pinky added.