RIGHTS-NEPAL: Court Ruling Emboldens Third Gender

KATHMANDU, Jul 30, 2008 (IPS) - Suman Tamang, 26, remembers feeling guilty for wishing he were a man. Tamang, born a woman, wanted to do the heavy work only men do, was friends with more men than women and was attracted to girls. "At that time, I didn’t really understand I was transgender, I was awkward and I knew I was different."

Today Suman lives with his 21-year-old wife Anusha in Kathmandu. The couple met at a dance programme in Jhapa town, fell in love and decided to stay together. When they revealed their plans to get married to their families, it was not accepted, so they fled their village and came to Kathmandu. "There are more employment opportunities in Kathmandu, and as a couple we feel safer here," says Tamang.

Although there is no law in Nepal that recognises the couple’s marriage yet, there have been some policy changes in Nepal, which have been in favour of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. On Dec. 21, 2007 Nepal’s Supreme Court (SC) declared that all discriminatory laws against LGBTI people must be repealed by the government, and provision must be made for recognition of the 'third gender' on government documents. Nepal is the only country in South Asia to provide such rights.

"It took a lot of lobbying, discussions, organising, talking, pressuring" says Sunil Babu Pant, founder of Blue Diamond Society (BDS) an NGO that reaches out to the LGBTI community through education, healthcare and advocacy. "Not only are the third gender now recognised, but political parties Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Communist Party of Nepal (United) have clauses recognising sexual minorities in their party manifestos," adds Pant, who recently made headlines for being the first person from the LGBTI community to represent CPN (U) in Nepal’s constituent assembly.

Nepal has been slowly making progress in terms of LGBTI rights. In February this year a local bank produced application forms that included the third option of "others" under the gender category. Similarly, BDS and the Supreme Court are looking into forming a seven-member committee to explore the legalisation of same-sex marriages.

Most LGBTI come from remote parts of Nepal. Throughout Nepal over 120,000 people from the LGBTI community are in touch with the BDS through its offices in 25 districts. The community predicts that there may be around 900,000 LGBTI in the country.

Alex Chamling, 27, a gay Roman Catholic, lives in Kathmandu with his family. His eyes fill with tears as he describes how difficult it was for him to come out to his family. "It was a shock to them, but as I explained and talked to them more they understood, and have slowly come to accept me," says Chamling who is preparing to leave for Australia for a few years to get a graduate degree.

Chamling, who has been working with BDS since its inception, says working with the community has made him confident and helped him deal with doubts regarding sexuality and even become proactive about his rights. He still attends weekly mass at his church and believes that love is not a sin. Chamling says, "I don’t believe that loving someone of the same gender can be a sin and loving someone from another gender not."

Small victories aside, people from the LGBTI communities still face grave discrimination. Police disrupt and beat up transgender people socialising at the popular stretch of Thamel. Last August the Nepal Army sacked two homosexual women including a cadet Bhakti Shah.

Shah had been serving with the Nepal Army for four years as a physical training instructor for women cadets. The court sacked her on the charge that she and another trainee were engaged in an indecent intimate relationship. She was kept in solitary confinement for 60 days before being sacked.

Earlier this month the Nepal Army’s Appellate Court dismissed Shah’s appeal to reinstate her as physical training instructor. "This decision is against the spirit of the Supreme Court’s December verdict and the government must reform this kind of undemocratic and ad-hoc judiciary proceedings at Nepal Army's Appellate court. Otherwise there is no difference from yesterday and today's democratic Nepal," says Pant.

Despite this, Pant is still hopeful. He remembers a time when the people of the LGBTI communities could not come out of their homes. "We have come a long way -now they are going out in the public, asking for their rights, pressuring the government to recognise them."

Manisha Bista has been working with BDS since it started. Although still apprehensive about going out of her house in drag, Bista, a transgender woman, says changes may be taking place very slowly, but they have been for the better. "There are other LGBTI organisations being formed, the donors are supportive, we are engaged in advocacy especially relating to HIV/AIDS related issues, even security personnel call us when they have orientation programs to talk."

As a constituent assembly member Pant says that the SC’s decision to recognise third gender must be implemented as soon as possible. He is in constant discussion with other members of the assembly and feels that there’s support for Nepal’s LGBTI community. "We are compassionate, hardworking people…With national laws and a state to support us, we can finally prove that we are not some pathetic minority and live as free citizens."

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