Local authorities in a village in Nepal officially registered the country’s first same-sex marriage on Wednesday, marking a historic moment. This development comes five months after the Supreme Court issued an interim order allowing such marriages in Nepal, a largely conservative nation.
The marriage involved 36-year-old Ram Bahadur (Maya) Gurung, who was born male but identifies as female, and 26-year-old Surendra Pandey, who was born and identifies as male. The ceremony was formally registered at the Dordi rural municipality office in the Lumjung district in west Nepal.
The couple, who have been in a relationship for nine years, initially married according to Hindu rituals in 2016 in the capital Kathmandu. The marriage registration was issued in accordance with the Supreme Court order and instructions from relevant government authorities.
In June, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order allowing same-sex couples to register their marriages until a final verdict is reached. Sunil Babu Pant, founder of the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s leading gay rights organization, described the registration as historic and a victory for sexual and gender minorities advocating for equal rights, including recognition of their marriages.
Taiwan is the only other location in Asia to have legalized same-sex marriage, where societies tend to be predominantly conservative. Nepal, a Hindu-majority nation, has undergone progressive changes since the end of a decade-long Maoist insurgency in 2006, culminating in the abolition of the 239-year-old Hindu monarchy in 2008.
