Nepal Is Set To Become The First South Asian Country To Grant LGBTQI Protections
Culture & Lifestyle Sep 23, 2015
In an unprecendented victory for Nepal's LGBTQI community, the country's new constitution has granted many protections, making it the first South Asian country to recognize their rights.
The constitution took effect on September 20, after months of amending and rewriting the interim constitution and legal code since the abolishment of the monarchy and its establishment as a democratic republic. The constitution contains three major articles that address LGBTQI rights: Article 12 states that citizens can choose their preferred gender identity on citizenship documents so male, female and other. Article 18 is seen as the wider precedent as it states that gender-nonconforming and sexual minorities will not be discriminated against by the state and judiciary in its laws. It adds that government will take extra measures through laws to protect, empower and advance the rights of gender and sexual minorities, along with other marginalized groups. Article 42 states that gender and sexual minorities have the right to participate in state mechanisms and public services that promote inclusion.
Sunil Babu Pant, the country's first openly gay minister and founder of the LGBTQI group Blue Diamonds Society, praised the laws that enshrine the community's rights. "This victory is just the beginning of our long road towards full equality. We are ready to move beyond the discrimination, violence and exclusion of the past, and continue with even greater integrity, responsibility and dedication to contribute to the nation-building process," he told Metro Weekly.
Although these laws have been widely praised by activists and the community, there are no mentions of same-sex marriage, which still needs to be amended in the civil code. A same-sex marriage bill was drafted for presentation to parliament by Narahari Acharya, the law minister, but it's likely that the bill wasn't ratified for the constitution.
Many members of the community expressed doubts about its sensitivity since they were not consulted on the bill. Pant told Scroll.in that while Acharya was sympathetic to their cause, he didn't trust "the homophobic bureacracy."
In spite of this glaring omission, Nepal has been rather progressive despite flip-flopping on its policies after decriminalizing homosexuality in 2007, before repealing it in 2011. They also recognized the third gender for passport and identification documents in 2011, becoming the first country in the world to do so. With the new constitution recognizing LGBTQI rights, its neighbour India is lagging behind in protecting the rights of the vast LGBTQ community by recriminalizing homosexuality in 2013, and it has little protection for the trans community and marginalized groups, despite states like Tamil Nadu taking on a 'hijra' welfare policy.
Although there's a long way to go in terms of full equality for the community, it's admirable that Nepal has become the first South Asian country to enshrine LGBTQI rights because it sets the model for which other nations can follow suit.
Main Image Photo Credit: Scroll.in
Rumnique Nannar
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Rumnique Nannar is a new journalist with a passion for all things pop culture, film, and art. Rumnique was born in London, with a predilection for devouring English chocolate with her Vogue, ANOKHI, and Glamour magazines in tow. She is currently in her Journalism Masters at UBC. Connect ...
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