Kathmandu, Feb 14 (EFE).- Nepal officially registered the first marriage between two women, nearly three months after the country legalized same-sex unions, an LGBTQ rights activist told EFE on Wednesday.<\/p>
Dipti Shrestha and Suprita Gurung, both 33 years old, “made history” by becoming the first lesbian couple in South Asia to officially register their marriage this week, said Sunil Babu Pant, a prominent LGBTQ rights advocate and former legislator in Nepal.<\/p>
The couple, who have been in a relationship for over five years, obtained their marriage certificate in less than a month in the village of Jamuni, located in western Nepal, Pant added.<\/p>
In November, Nepal became the first country in South Asia and the second after Taiwan in Asia to legalize same-sex marriages, following a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in June 2023 which paved the way for the legal protection of LGBTQ rights.<\/p>
Pant, who is known as Nepal’s first openly gay parliamentarian, claimed that despite this progressive step, some local government authorities have prevented around 200 same-sex couples from registering their marriages.<\/p>
While Nepal’s civil code, enacted in 2018, only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman, the country’s highest court sought to address this limitation by ordering the establishment of a provisional registry for non-traditional marriages until legislation is enacted.<\/p>
In January 2014, a committee was established to examine international laws concerning same-sex marriages.<\/p>
Nepal’s Constitution, ratified in 2015, does not address marriages between people of the same sex. However, article 18 of the Constitution acknowledges LGBTQI individuals as a recognized disadvantaged group, granting them protection as sexual and gender minorities.<\/p>
In November last year, Surendra Pandey and Maya Gurung became the first LGBTQ couple to have their marriage officially registered. EFE<\/p>
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