"It is about saying no to intolerance, no to prejudice, no to discrimination, and no to violence," he said. British Ambassador Tucknott said the pride was about everyone, straight or gay, supporting them in their quest for equality. From this year, transgenders and lesbians have been accepted by Nepal's political parties with one of the first Miss Gay Nepal, who calls herself Bhumika, taking the plunge first. Watched by hundreds of people lined up on both sides of the road, the gay pride also saw human rights organisations and politicians taking part. Observed even today, especially by Kathmandu's Newar community, it is a festival where participants are allowed lots of licence and politicians come under attack for bad governance.
#INDIA FIRST GAY PRIDE PARADE FULL#
A festival full of colour, dances and satirical programmes it is said to have been started by King Pratap Malla, whose dynasty ruled Nepal from 12th to 18th century, to console his wife, left inconsolable after the death of their son. This is about equality for all." Nine years ago, Pant, a computer engineer, decided to use Nepal's Gaijatra festival to "out" the sexual minorities and persuade them to walk in public in their own sexual identity. Our gay parade ends with a candle-light vigil in memory of those who died last year. In Nepal, there were 10 known deaths last year. Thousands of gays die worldwide every year, some of natural causes, some due to AIDS/HIV and many due to violence. "We have the support of the Irish parliament, the American ambassador to Nepal, Scott DeLisi, has sent a message of solidarity and the march saw the participation of the British ambassador, John Tucknott.
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"From this year, our march has become internationalised," said Sunil Babu Pant, BDS founder and Nepal's only openly gay MP who successfully lobbied Supreme Court to recognise same-sex marriages and is now hosting such events for foreigners in Nepal with his gay travel agency, Pink Mountains, promising elaborate honeymoon packages. Organised under the aegis of Blue Diamond Society, Nepal's pioneering gay rights organisation, the march, now in its ninth year, has grown from strength to strength since its inception when the participants hid their faces behind masks for fear of being identified. Dozens of young men and women, dressed in costumes, masks and animal ensembles, marched in a gay pride reminding one of the Mardi Gras celebrations in Brazil.
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KATHMANDU: As stricken relatives huddled at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital on Wednesday for the post-mortem of the 14 people killed in a plane crash in Nepal on Tuesday to be over and to be handed over the mangled body parts for last rites, the republic's victimised gay community began celebrating a centuries-honoured rite to exorcise grief that gradually became a tool to expose society's foibles and now, is also the lesbian, gay and transgender community's march for equality.