Kathmandu: The government has issued a circular to all local bodies to register same-sex marriages.
The sexual and gender minorities have welcomed the move as a significant step towards equal rights for the communities.
As per the decision taken at the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister level, all the local registration authorities have been requested to issue a certificate after keeping a temporary record of marriage in a separate registration book.
The government’s circular responded to an application filed by Mayako Pahichan Nepal (MKPN), a non-governmental organisation advocating for the rights of the sexual and gender minorities, requesting making marriage involving sexual and gender minority couples easier.
In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court, the Department of National ID and Civil Registration has asked the issuance of a marriage registration certificate to the people from the communities. Accordingly, on November 29, 2023, Dordi Rural Municipality in Lamjung district acting on a circular by the Department registered the same-sex marriage involving Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey, making Nepal the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in South Asia and second in Asia behind Taiwan.
Although the local level registered the same-sex marriage, there were complaints that other local levels were reluctant to do so requesting a separate circular from the Department. To sort out the problem, and make rainbow marriage easier, MKPN filed an application with the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting the issuance of a circular to all local levels across the country to register same-sex marriage.
It may be noted that on the initiatives of Sunil Babu Pant, Asia’s first openly gay former parliamentarian of Nepal, and the MKPN Executive Director, Bardia’s Badhaiyatal Rural Municipality registered the marriage of a lesbian couple, Suprita Gurung and Dipti Shrestha, making Nepal the first country to do so in South Asia.
Pant thanked Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane for taking this landmark decision of issuing a circular in this regard.
After 3 months of follow-up, the Ministry of Home Affairs finally issued a circular for marriage registration involving the minority couples through the Department, he said, expressing the hope that it would be fruitful in easing the registration of rainbow marriages.
On June 27, 2023, the Supreme Court gave an interim order to register same-sex marriages with temporary records.
