After gays, Nepal lesbians gear for first public wedding

Red saris are being brought out of cupboards along with red bangles and necklaces as women in Nepal get ready to celebrate Teej Friday, one of the rare festivals that are by, for and of women.

However, Kalpana Pariyar, a fresh-faced 21-year-old from Karabari village in the border district of Sunsari, and Sabi Bishwokorma, 32, also from the same region, have an additional reason to celebrate the festival, held during the monsoon.

The two, who have been living together for the last 15 months, decided to formalise their relationship by getting "married" in Kathmandu Thursday.

Disowned by their families, the defiant women came to Kathmandu this week looking for support from Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal's only gay rights organisation that last year organised the kingdom's first public gay marriage.

Pariyar and Bishwokorma, both of whom belong to disadvantaged communities, have been drawing heart by the growing movement in the capital to wrest rights for the sexual minorities, who till the inception of the BDS in 2001, were forced to live in closets.

On Wednesday, hundreds of gays, lesbians and transgenders marched through the capital, chanting slogans.

The rally was the culmination of a two-day seminar on creating a more inclusive and tolerant society that ended with a Kathmandu Declaration.

"We recognise Nepal as our country," the declaration said. "Nepal must recognise us."

Nepal's oppressed sexual minorities are asking the government to protect their rights, employment opportunities and security.

They are asking for a change in discriminatory laws and to recognise the third sex while granting citizenship and voting rights.

The same sex wedding comes three months after two lesbians were sacked by the Nepal Army, followed by a third, working with Nepal Armed Police, committing suicide.

Nepal's gay community says they are constantly harassed by police, arrested and detained illegally, abused and even molested inside detention cells.

In Nepal's feudal society, where sons are preferred over daughters, homosexuals and lesbians find themselves rejected by families and employers alike.

Ironically, though they campaigned against King Gyanendra's absolute rule last year, Nepal's gay communities are yet to be befriended by the opposition parties, who are now in power.

A member of the ruling coalition, the Maoists, favour a ban on homosexuality, following the communist doctrine that homosexuality is a perversion that corrupts society.

(IANS)

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