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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbySeptember 17th, 2015
In November 2008, it came to our attention that the Supreme Court of Nepal, a small Himalayan landlocked country between India and China, was pushing the nation to include protections and rights for LGBT citizens (it should be noted that Nepalese perspectives about gender and sexuality are probably different from that of Western societies, but LGBT likely adequately encompasses the ruling.)
In January of 2010, it appeared that LGBT protections, including marriage rights, were to be included in the nation’s new constitution and that the deadline for implementation was May 28, 2010.
But that date passed and political turmoil in Nepal’s parliament hindered the passage of the constitution. And not just for a brief while. Year after year has passed and nothing resulted but turmoil and strife.
But in April of this year, an earthquake registering on the Richter Scale at about 8.0, changed the nation’s priorities. About 9,000 people died and tens of thousands of others were injured. Ancient architectural landmarks were destroyed and entire villages were wiped out, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The nation’s response was abysmal, and much of the chaos was blamed on a lack preparedness due to political squabbling.
Suddenly the political differences seemed less important.
And finally, more than five years late, the constitution has been approved. (Time)
The landlocked Himalayan nation’s parliament passed the constitution on Wednesday with 507 out of 601 members of its Constituent Assembly voting in favor, Agence France-Presse reported.
The new charter replaces an interim constitution that has governed the country since 2007, when a decadelong civil war culminated in the end of its Hindu monarchy.
And it does appear that specific LGBT protections are in place: (HRC)
Article 12 states that citizens will be allowed to choose their preferred gender identity on their citizenship document. The choices available are male, female or other.
Article 18 states that gender and sexual minorities will not be discriminated against by the state and by the judiciary in the application of laws. It further adds that the government may make special provisions through laws to protect, empower and advance the rights of gender and sexual minorities and other marginalized and minority groups.
Article 42 lists gender and sexual minorities among the groups that have a right to participate in state mechanisms and public services to promote inclusion.
It remains to be seen whether these changes include marriage rights. However, as the Supreme Court has in the past directed that the government provide such rights, it seems likely that they will broadly interpret Article 18 and marriage equality may finally come to Asia.
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Soren456
September 17th, 2015
A surprise here: had you asked me, I’d have bet the farm that Nepal is Buddhist.
I had no idea that it is essentially Hindu, but looking again at its place on the map, I guess that’s not surprising.
Al Raymond
September 18th, 2015
Though the article may seem encouraging, I find nothing in it that specifically decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults in private. One of the worst—and continuing—results of British imperialism, was laws punishing ALL homosexual acts in Nepal as well as India and many other countries formerly under British rule.
So far all I see is some feel-good generalities about “non-discrimination”, but what good is the right to marry (assuming that is implied in the constitution) if a couple cannot enjoy the most basic right of any married couple—namely sexual relations in private?
Timothy Kincaid
September 18th, 2015
Al Raymond,
Homosexuality was decriminalized in 2007
MattNYC
September 18th, 2015
Timothy,
I agree with Soren–I would have guessed (especially with enlightened view of sexuality) that Nepal was predominantly Buddhist. I used to have a Nepalese co-worker and I suppose we never discussed religion in Nepal. You learn something new every day. :)
India’s Hindu-majority treatment of LGBTs has been shockingly bad over the years, so a major “Bravo” for Nepal!
Dave H
September 18th, 2015
According to Wikipedia (which you can never assume is 100% accurate, since it is crowdsourced, but is usually pretty good):
Hinduism is practiced by about 81.3% of Nepalis, the highest percentage of any country. Buddhism is linked historically with Nepal and is practiced by 9% of its people, followed by Islam at 4.4%, Kiratism 3.1%, Christianity 1.4%,[2] and animism 0.4%.[12] A large portion of the population, especially in the hill region, may identify themselves as both Hindu and Buddhist, which can be attributed to the syncretic nature of both faiths in Nepal.[13]
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