Advocates celebrated Nepal’s first-ever same-sex marriage registration as a win for LGBT rights.
On Wednesday, Maya Gurung,35, and Surendra Pandey,27, officially registered their marriage with the Lumjung district authorities in the west.
It happened five months after an interim order permitting same-sex marriage registration was given by the Supreme Court.The only other country in Asia where same-sex marriage is permitted is Taiwan.
Their registration was a “big day” for the couple as well as for other sexual minorities, Gurung told the BBC. “It is not simple to fight for rights. We’ve completed it. Future generations will also find it easier,” she remarked. “The registration has opened doors to a lot of things for us.”
The pair had stated that they intended to share ownership of the land they purchased and create a joint bank account. However, once their finances are more stable, their greatest ambition is to adopt a kid. They’ve been in a relationship for nearly ten years. The pair applied for formal recognition of their union this year after getting married in a temple ceremony in 2017.
Gurung is a transgender woman whose gender has not been altered on record. Born as a man, Pandey identifies as such.
In July, a district court in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, declined to register their marriage, even though the Supreme Court had ordered the government to do so until it had produced legislation to amend the law.
