Fighting For Gay Rights in Nepal - Sunil Pant

As the USA continues to lag behind other parts of the world in its treatment of LGBT citizens, one of the interesting stories of gay rights around the world is that of what is happening in Nepal - the tiny nation nestled in the Himalayas. Leading the charge for change is Sunil Pant (pictured at right), Nepal’s first openly gay parliamentarian and the man leading the gay rights revolution in Nepal and setting an example in Asia. Much to my amazement some months back Pant asked to be MY Facebook friend. Once again demonstrating how blogging can bring about some unique contacts. Sunil is a testimony to the fact that one person can make a difference. As I have written before, Nepal wants to become a gay honeymoon destination. Here are some highlights from CNN:
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The United States made headlines this June when it announced that the passports of transgender individuals will reflect their changed genders. But those in and around Nepal will remember that the Nepali authorities issued similar "third gender" identification cards back in 2007. And leading this charge for gay rights in Asia is Nepal's first openly gay Parliamentarian, Sunil Pant.
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In the center of Kathmandu is the popular Ratna Park and in the evenings in the late 1990s, that was where the city's LGBT community would quietly meet. Within one month, Pant met thousands of Nepal’s sexual minorities. Pant shared what he learned about the Stonewall Movement, about South Africa's legalization of gay marriage, and the open environment in which gays live in other parts of the world. At the same time, people shared with Pant the fear, intimidation, abuse, and violence they experienced at home in Nepal.
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Pant and his friends began to organize. They held the first training of its kind in Nepal addressing condom usage for gay men, sexual health, and human rights. When one transgender member of the training committed suicide after being beaten and discovered by her brother, Pant became determined to document and campaign on behalf of such individuals. In 2001, Pant started the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), a thriving resource, advocacy, and community center for Nepal's LGBT community.
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2006 saw the rise of populist movements in Nepal and it was then that Pant presented the government with an agenda to protect the rights of LGBT individuals. In 2007 he took the government to court demanding equal rights; they ruled in favor of Pant, agreed to issue third gender identification cards, and sanctioned the formation of a committee to research the societal effects of same-sex marriage. As Pant puts it, the committee wanted to ensure that "the sky would not fall" if Nepal were to legalize gay marriage.
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Pant says his policies are moving fast, the media is supportive, and gay individuals are more open about their sexuality now. "Government policies don't change, but individual ministers do," and that is where Pant sees possibilities for progress. "We have the same politicians and people expect miracles to happen," says Pant, who is now leading a broad-based youth activist movement in Nepal.
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And like Nepal, Pant believes the United States should move toward same-sex marriage laws on a federal level and not let individual states decide on matters of marriage.