First Pride Coming to Nepal

July 30, 2010

An openly gay parliamentarian in the South Asian nation of Nepal said the country is set to host its first-ever pride parade in late August.

Mount Everest

Speaking to the AFP, Sunil Pant said he hopes at least 3,000 participants will show up for the parade in the capital Kathmandu in August 25.

The date falls during a traditional festival in the predominately Hindu country in which men dress up as women. The gay community has adopted the festival as its own.
 

Pant said: "We want to make this a truly international event.

"Nepal has made so much progress on gay issues in the last few years, and we hope to spread hope and inspire others."

Despite having only decriminalized homosexuality in 2007, the country has made a tremendous turnaround regarding societal acceptance of LGBT.

Gay marriage is currently being considered in the parliament and gay rights are expected to be enshrined in the country’s constitution, once an agreement is met among the country’s various parties.
Nepal is on an international blitz to bring increased tourism to the country, and it hopes to attract LGBT from around the world.

One project under discussion is to hold gay weddings at Everest base camp.

Currently, Nepal receives 400,000 tourists a year, but it looks to raise that number to a million annually.

Image source: Luca Galuzzi - www.galuzzi.it