One of our first posts at queeristan was about the nascent LGBT movement in Nepal (please ignore the unfortunate wording choice...we were young and facetious then): Nipple Nepal, Land of High Peaks, Opens Bosom for LGBTs. The recent political upheaval in Nepal, which replaced the aboslute monarchy with a secular republic, provided an opportunity for the Nepali LGBT movement to take root. In a newly-minted democracy, the spirit of change pervades the political atmosphere.
Nepal is back in the Western media's radar, this time for their, may I say so myself, pragmatic approach to tourism. They want to become the go-to tourist destination for gay couples, keenly aware of limited rights for LGBTs in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Looking to diversify their tourism portfolio, Nepal is targeting gay couples, hoping that wealthier tourists will add more cash to the economy by participating in higher-cost activites such as staying in five-star hotels. Currently, the tourism industry is dominated by the typical backpacker living on a shoestring budget. These efforts are headed by none other than Sunil Pant.
Pink Everest: Nepal appeals for gay tourists
3.24.2010
Nepal Knows Where the $$$ is at
1.16.2009
Weekly Mix Masala
Sunil Babu Pant, from Nepal, addresses the UN on LGBT issues.
Gays Without Borders
This guy is on fire! Pant also received a "People of the Year Award" from The Advocate magazine!
Advocate.com
Nepal - one step forward, two steps back. Journalist Uma Singh, one of many journalists targeted in Nepal, is hacked to death by 12 to 20 men. One issue Uma covered was women's rights.
SAJA Forum
The Star Screen Awards were very... pseudo-gay this year! Priyanka Chopra wins the Best Actress award for Fashion and Jon Abraham and Abishek Bachchan win the best couple award for Dostana.
Screen India
Which Bollywood stars have Hollywood look-a-likes? These pairings are amazing!!
Ultrabrown
Queer Masti: Bi-sexual Prejudice - Bi Ladki talks about the lack of understanding towards bi-sexuals.
Desiclub.com
Court rules that Bangladeshi trans-persons are full-fledged citizen and are allowed to vote for the first time ever!
Globalgayz.com
What are the HIV related needs of sexual minorities in India? Download the document here:
msmasia.org
Cop torches wife to death in Nagpur, India
Times of India
12.12.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
Nepal signs onto UN's 1st Gay Rights Statement -- America remains disturbingly silent.
The Advocate
Pink News
Pro IPC 377 government: Gays, not lack of education, should be blamed for HIV
Times of India
Trans in Trinidad, an interview with Jenny Jagdeo.
Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, Allsexuals, and Gays (JFLAG)
Gay Westerners travel to India in search for surrogate mothers.
Times of India
2nd Edition of Vanita's Same Sex Love in India released -- desi queer message more applicable than ever
Wall Street Journal
Mayor of Pune lends an ear to trans woes
Times of India
John Abraham speaks again on Dostana and shockingly reveals large gay populations in San Francisco, LA, and Miami!
But sadly, he misses the mark on gays:“This is an option people have chosen for themselves or are born with; we should respect that.”
Times of India
11.23.2008
Nepal grants Same-sex marriage rights!
"In a landmark verdict, the apex court in Nepal has given its consent to same-sex marriages, a move that beats off social taboos in the conservative valley.
The apex court on Monday directed the Maoist-led government in Nepal to formulate necessary laws to guarantee full rights to gays, including right to same-sex marriage.
"The court has instructed the government against making any discrimination on the basis of sex. This is a landmark decision for the sexual minorities and we welcome it," Sunil Babu Panta, a leading gay activist in South Asia and Nepal's only lawmaker in the Constituent Assembly representing the community, said."
Maybe we should get some tips from them??
Nepal SC approves same-sex marriage
10.29.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
The Kinsey Institute's International Encylopedia of Sexuality is all available online. Articles about India: 516; Nepal: 714; Sri Lanka: 972. For those of you virgins to the Kinsey name - Kinsey is considered the father of sexology. Go watch Kinsey, the movie, for a better idea.
Apple donates $100,000 to fight against Proposition 8, which is on the California ballot to eliminate the right of gay marriage from the state constitution. You know, I never would have guessed...8.31.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
More Reviews of A Jihad for Love
Arab American News
Bay Area Reporter
San Fransico Bay Times
Behind the veil lives a thriving Muslim sexuality
Sydney Morning Herald
Victims blame Nepali PM for floods
SindhToday.net
HIV positive Indian boy wishes to be sent back to Pakistani jail
Pakistan Daily
The News
Gay and Democracy- how queers are becoming more involved in politics.
Times of India
Carriers of HIV ignored in India
NDTV
Activists want British apology for IPC 377
The Independent
Essay on homosexuality in India
CounterCurrents.org
Health Minister Ramadoss champions gay rights
Sahara Samay
How to combat distance in fighting India's war against HIV/AIDS
Reuters India
UAE contradicts itself in terms of lifestyle
International Herald Tribune
Sanjaya, from American Idol, returns!
7.18.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
A British Columbian newspaper publishes article online regarding South Asian queers and their struggles.
The Province
Banker launches blog to give voice to Pakistani gays!
Economic Times
After its historic elections, Nepal still sees no improvement in attitudes towards queers
UK Gay News
Sydney, Australia's first ever GLBT South Asian film festival to take place Aug 15-17!
SX News
160 Organizations Rally to end HIV/AIDS travel ban to the US
The Daily Dish
Archives of Sexual Behavior: A new study on coming out by South Asian gay men in the UK
Ingenta Connect
Indian Council of Medical Research allows gays to use in vitro. How is India so outdated on one hand, and then so progressive on the other?
Times of India
The Gay Wedding Industrial Complex
Jezebel
Meet filmmaker Sonali Gulati - one of the organizers of Delhi's pride parade
Thaindian News
Gurinder Chadha, my feminist hero
Jezebel
7.11.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
A Mumbai Pride march is being planned for August 16th! More information at Queer Azaadi
Following the example of India's 18th-century Mughal rulers, who used castrated men or hermaphrodites to guard their harems, the government of Bihar plans to post eunuchs as guards in girls dormitories, colleges and hospitals.
Globeandmail.com
Glad to be gay (but a bit shy about it) - Indians are more afraid of their relatives and friends finding out than they are about the law
Economist
Indian Penal Code Section 377 FAQ - all nicely summed up
Nonstop Goli Blog
Nepalese army 'sacks' lesbian for misconduct.
BBC News
But hey, Nepal is also hosting the first South Asian LGBT workshop! Two steps forward, one step back.
The Advocate
Uh oh. Actor-director Sajid Khan, from the show Sajid's Superstars annoyed actor Ritesh Deshmukh by asking if he is gay.
Yahoo India
More Deportation Dilemmas: Azerbaijani Muslim poet's request for asylum in Britain has been rejected
Therion
Irshad Manji on honor killings
Huffington Post
Muslim woman implements her innovative concept of an all-woman jamaat (a court-like assembly)
Times of India
It appears that British marriage registrar Lillian Ladele has won her religious discrimination claim following her refusal to perform civil partnership for a gay marriage
Usefully Employed
Okay guys, let's drown out this crowd with our own people - Anti-gay pride parade in Brooklyn, August 31
Gay City News
Choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan exposes Bollywood-style dancing to the world on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance. This guy is going to go far!
6.06.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
List of religions & their positions on homosexuality (doesn't include Sikhism though!)
SignOnSanDiego.com
Another list - this one an English language South Asian LGBT bibliography
Columbia University
"Homosexuals seek social networking sites support"...whoa oh oh! We were totally the first on this trend - check us out on facebook
Zee News
Tale of an Indian Lesbian (fiction)
SAMAR Magazine
There are 9 countries that have the maximum death sentence for same-sex relations; Pakistan and Iran are 2 of them. There are 10 countries that have the maximum sentence for life imprisonment for same-sex relations; India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal (hopefully that will change soon) are 4 of them - the other 6 have large South Asian populations.
Pink News
Scroll down to watch the documentary Voices from Nepal, where Scott Long of HRC records stories of LGBT people working for change in Nepal
In The Life
Kinda like the pharmacists who refuse to give birth control, a registrar in UK refuses to conduct civil partnerships
Islington Tribune
5.29.2008
For Queer Dummies: Nepal Elections Cheat Sheet
May 28, 2008
- 575 members sworn in to Nepal's Constituent Assembly
- 26 seats are still open; these are to be filled by members elected by the Cabinet.
- The assembly officiated the end of 340 years of religious monarchy in Nepal
- Responsible for overseeing the transition from an absolute monarchy to a federal republic and creating a new constitution for Nepal.
- The three major parties within the assembly: Maoists, Nepal Congress, and the CPN(UML).
- 191 members (33%) out of the 575 are women, a record high in any Nepali political institution
- 35 year old Sunil Pant, founder of the Blue Diamond Society, becomes the first openly gay politician to serve in the Nepali parliament.
- Pant's party, CPN-U, split from the third largest party in the assembly, the CPN(UML). Perhaps CPN-U picked up it's pro-LGBT tendencies from it's mother party?
- With 26 seats still open, there's room for more women and more people who identify as LGBT. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
Related Posts
News Alert: Nepal Elects Gay Leader
Nepal, Land of High Peaks, Opens Bosom for LGBTs
5.01.2008
News Alert: Nepal Elects Gay Leader
Despite my journalism friend saying this is cliché, I’m going to go ahead and quote Obama (does this make it obvious who I support?):
"I have always said that I don’t think that the LGBT community should take its cues from me or some political leader in terms of what they think is right for them. Real change comes from the bottom up, not the top down.”
Today we found out that Sunil Pant, founder of the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), has won a seat in the Nepali Parliament. He ran with a small fringe party, the Communist Party of Nepal-United (CPN-U) and has given life to Obama’s quote. Ok yes, the Nepali LGBT community may be taking “cues from …a political leader,” (Pant) but in this case, the leader clearly represents them and takes his cues from the LGBT community as well. Sunil started out as an ordinary citizen, founded BDS, used BDS to win legal battles for the LGBT community, and now has gone on to be the first openly gay politician in Nepal. Now other countries *cough* USA *cough* just need to follow Nepal’s lead in community activism.
Nepal has proven to be on the forefront of gay rights out of all the South Asian nations (I promise I won't make another open bosom/nipple/nepal joke) – in 2007, the Supreme Court issued orders to the government to treat people of the LGBTI community with the same rights accorded to heteros. Perhaps the overturning of a centuries old monarchy has something to do with this?
Official Nepali elections took place on April 10, but the process includes a secondary election that awards seats based on proportional representation. That combined with the fact that most constituencies did not use electronic polling, extended the process and tallying of results. Initial reports for the LGBT politicians looked grim, as it appeared that the Maoist party won most of the seats and the CPN-U gained none. The secondary process, however, awarded the CPN-U five seats in the Parliament, one of which they awarded to Pant. CPN-U has proven to be the go-to party for the LGBT community, since it included 12 sexual minorities running under its banner.
Pant has been a highly visible community activist - BDS is the only LGBT human rights group in Nepal. His victory has won accolades worldwide; Ashok Kavi of UNAID New Delhi says to Pant, “You've made our day and now will become the flag bearer of the LGBT communities in the Nepalese Parliament.”
More news on the elections: Thaindian News
Related Posts:
Nepali Elections
Sexual minorities, party of 12!
One step forward, two steps back...
The Fab Five
4.11.2008
Nepali Elections
Nepali elections took place yesterday, April 10th, and the results are "slowly trickling in." Only one constituency held an electronic vote, so it will take upto 10 days to learn the results. Nepal has been lauded for holding relatively peaceful elections admist concerns that April 10th would be a trigger for further civil unrest. An estimated 60% of the population participated in the elections (hey America, take notice!). This election is a turning point for the Nepali LGBT community since it's reported that 5 to 12 gays, lesbians, and hijras planned to run for seats. April 10 may mark the end of the throne of the monarchy and also a turning point for more human rights in Nepal. Holding these elections were part of the deal with the Maoists - however, there is concern that if the Maoists do not win a majority, new violence will ensue, espeically since they are suspected to be causing the minimal violence that has taken place.
AFP
Associated Press
3.24.2008
Sexual minorities, party of 12!
Believe it or not, the Fab Five has grown to become the Tantalizing TWELVE! Now in the running for Nepal's historic elections are ten gay men, a lesbian, and a hijra who is known as Gudiya, or "the Dancing Doll." Because of Nepal's conservative past, it will definitely be an uphill battle for these brave candidates. Regardless of whether they win or lose, Sunil Babu Pant (pictured above), remains optimistic about the future of LGBT rights in Nepal. “For the first time in Nepal’s history, two of the most powerful parties have promised to address gay issues in their election manifestos,” says Pant. “That’s a beginning.”
'Gudiya' strikes blow for gay rights in Nepal polls
3.22.2008
One step forward, two steps back...
While the government of Nepal finds itself on the brink of embracing LGBT rights, the recent shut down of a Kathmandu AIDS hospice delivers a substantial blow to such a cause. The hospice was sponsored by the Elton John Foundation and maintained by the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal's growingly popular gay rights organization. The closure is attributed to neighborhood pressure, resulting in the forced eviction of twelve men, four of whom are in the terminal stages of AIDS.
This move further detaches Nepal from facing its growing AIDS epidemic. Thousands of men migrate to larger Indian cities searching for work, there they often visit brothels and contract HIV before returning home only to spread it to their families. This overlap between HIV/AIDS transmission and the cycle of labor is a disturbing pattern seen throughout the developing world. Programs of the Blue Diamond Society, such as this hospice, are only a handful of resources available to Nepal's burgeoning HIV population. This closure only reinforces the divisive issues the nation's new government will have to resolve after the April 10th elections.
Anti-gay bias evicts dying AIDS patients in Nepal
3.21.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
Snehithan: social & support group for GBTTQQ of the Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhala, Tamil, and Telegu speaking communities.
snehithan.ca
Dosti: a Toronto based site for desi men who have or want sex with men. Browse to meet others and keep abreast of the latest news with Munnibai, the safer-sex queen.
dosti.ca
Blue Diamond Society of Nepal receives international recognition for their LGBT Human Rights work
International Gay and Human Rights Commission
Pregnant Transmale! Guess men can get pregnant
Jezebel
Review of Kari, a graphic novel about a lesbian copywriter in Mumbai
Newsindpress
Candlelight vigil in Kolkata for three members of the transgender community and the community explores the connection between the hijra and transsexual community
Express India
Martin Manalansan, an anthropologist specializing in South Asian diaspora studies, belongs to growing cohort of scholars that have recently moved "queer critique" aggressively into the domain of critical race theory
Brooklyn Blues Blog
Bipasha on Begum Nawazish's fawning over John: "Compliments for John are always welcome. Whether the compliments are from a lady, a man or from a gay person"
Times of India
Namaste: Building the South Asian GLBT community locally with KhushDC
MetroWeekly
3.14.2008
Weekly Mix Masala
A recently wed lesbian couple committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh.
India eNews
A gay couple's experience traveling in the Maldives
Sun Island, Maldives
Queer Desi Films! (films exploring sexuality, Islam, Hinduism)
Rediff
When Kiran Met Karen - indie flick about interracial lesbian relationship
Independent Films Direct; Trailer #1; Trailer #2
Interview with Bobby Darling, Bollywood trans actor
MSN India
Gay men in India are barred from donating blood
Medindia
India launches a new scheme to curb female feticide
ABC News Report
Irish poet Cathal O Searcaigh set up charity fund to help "penniless" families in Nepal and apparently used that money to pay young Nepali men for sex
Irish Independent
Queer Health: The tie between oral sex, HPV, and oropharyngeal (throat) cancer
U.S. News & World Report
3.03.2008
The Fab Five
This is the proving to be the year of the queer for Nepalis! In
For Queer Dummies: LGBT Rights in South Asian Countries
All around the world, queers in different countries face different issues. While some are currently fighting for the right to marry or adopt, others are busy fighting against imprisonment and even death. Here's a quick breakdown of how LGBT rights in South Asia measure up.
Bangladesh:
Homosexual acts are punishable by deportation, fines and imprisonment up to 10 years, or imprisonment for life. Although rarely enforced, there are incidents of queer individuals being sentenced to death by fatwa, or Islamic law. LGBT have been granted asylum by other countries.
Bhutan:
Engaging in homosexual acts is considered a petty misdemeanor and, under the penal code of Bhutan (Art. 213 & 214), is punishable by imprisonment between one month and one year.
India:
Section 377 deems "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" to be punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years with a fine, or imprisonment for life. Although enforcement of the law is rare, it is frequently used to harass the queer community. Judicial review of the law is being sought.
Maldives: Only male homosexual acts can lead to imprisonment for life. 
Nepal:
Homosexual acts may be punishable by imprisonment. However, in December 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must create laws to protect the LGBT community and change old laws that discriminate against them. Nepal is going through some exciting changes right now!
Pakistan:
Since 1990, homosexuality is punishable by up to 100 lashes or death by stoning. Honor killings (murders towards individuals who dishonor their family or community) are commonplace towards LGBT individuals. LGBT have been granted asylum by other countries.
Sri Lanka:
Male homosexual acts can lead to imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Interactive Map of Legal Status of LGBT People
LGBT Rights By Country
2.27.2008
Nipple Nepal, Land of High Peaks, Opens Bosom for LGBTs
Blue Diamond Society (BDS), the only LGBT human rights group in Nepal, recently scored a victory against the haters, winning a case against a private petitioner (read: jerkass with nothing better to do) who claimed that the BDS was trying to legalize homosexuality. LGBT groups promoting homosexuality? What a novel idea!
Said private petitioner did not name BDS, recipient of £25,000 from Elton John (hey private petitioner! I bet Elton John doesn't care about YOU!), as the defendant of the case, but rather attempted to ban all homosexual acts in Nepal and made BDS implicit in the illegality of it all. Nepali laws against bestiality were used in his case, but on February 6th, the court deemed it irrelevant and stated that personal sexual activities did not fall under criminal law.
Not that I'm anywhere near understanding legalese, let alone Nepalegalese, but of concern is the fact that the court only ruled that homosexual acts are not of criminal law concern. These issues could possibly still be tried under civil law or in different forms. Moreover, the private petitioner (ok ok his name is Achut Prasad Kharel) also cited an existing law that prohibits homosexual activities.
Gays Without Borders
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