Kathmandu, Jan 12: The sexual and gender minorities have moved the Supreme Court seeking their constitutional rights. Four people including Surendra Pandey from the communities have registered a writ petition in the apex court demanding the implementation of Clause 42 of the Constitution, which ensures their representation in every state organs as per the principle of proportional inclusion.
However, eight years into the passage of the constitution, the communities have been deprived of their constitutional rights.
Sunil Babu Pant, Asia’s first former gay parliamentarian, has taken an initiative on the matter.
The Office of Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Law, the Federal Parliament and the Public Service Commission have been named defendants in the writ petition.
The writ petition demands the enforcement of their rights by issuing appropriate orders including a mandamus in the name of defendants for amending or modifying or adding to the law for the provision of inclusion in the civil service.
It also demands the issuance of an interim order in the name of the defendants to implement the provision that allows them to fill out the form in the next vacancy announcement.
The petitioners are homosexual men Surendra Pandey, Pawan Rai, Samuel Mulicha Sunwar Mukhia and third gender woman Trailokya Shrestha, who are working as social activists with ‘Mayako Pahichan Nepal’, a non-governmental organisation working for the rights of the sexual and gender minorities.
The petitioners stated that they ‘belong to the sexual and gender minorities, and they are finding it difficult to open up in the society due to the hatred, revenge, and exclusion aimed at the communities.
“Along with the various changes in the country, various organizations and stakeholders have been issuing notices and memorandums to the Government of Nepal at various times for achieving the constitutional rights as provided by the Constitution that has been promulgated with sacrifices of the sexual and gender minorities.”
Despite the constitutional guarantees, the presence of sexual and gender minorities in the civil administration of Nepal is zero, they have complained.
Clause 47 of the Constitution sets a limit for the implementation of fundamental rights within three years of the commencement of the Constitution. The government has made 17 different laws for the implementation of fundamental rights within three years of the commencement of the constitution. But the act relating to proportional inclusion has not been made so far, further worsening the situation.
“The rights of the sexual and gender minority communities have not been addressed by the public service commission’s call for vacancy to fill vacant civil service positions in various bodies of the state.” On the contrary, the rights of the sexual and gender minorities have been violated by depriving them of their right to live a dignified life by getting government employment,” according to the writ petition.
According to the Supreme Court administration, the hearing on the case is scheduled for January 16, 2024.
