so, granted, the legal status of this couple is a bit ambiguous. however, for a country that still practices chaupadi pratha (confining women to cowsheds during menstruation) in some rural areas, and is still hammering out the practice of will-based inheritance and the implementation of women's property rights, this is pretty damn progressive.
the progression of LGBTQ rights in nepal has largely been the result of the efforts of sunil babu pant, the first openly gay MP in south asia, and the advocacy group he founded, the blue diamond society. after BDS filed a complaint, the nepali supreme court ruled in 2008 that
"The government of Nepal should formulate new laws and amend existing laws in order to safeguard the rights of these people....Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex are natural persons irrespective of their masculine and feminine gender and they have the right to exercise their rights and live an independent life in society."
since the constitution still yet to be drafted, there are no laws yet that define these rights more specifically (a major part of the legal limbo in which the couple above found themselves). however, it's both awesome (for nepal) and distressing (for LGBTQ and allies in the states) that nepal has gone further* than the US in making progress towards equality.
looking forward to going to the gai jatra pride festival scheduled for aug 25. if you're in the 'du, i hope i'll see you there!
*in terms of US equivalence...sort of like if lawrence had been decided based on equal protection rather than privacy/due process? or like what the legal (if not political) implications of what will happen if perry is not overturned? dunno. law school friends will have to help this weak analogy out.
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