British Man Becomes First Foreigner to Marry in Nepal

August 25, 2010

A British gay couple has become the first to have a same-sex marriage in the Himalayan nation of Nepal.

Sanjay Shah for Leicester married his partner, an Indian man, who did not want to be named.

Threats from their relatives forced the couple to marry in another country. Shah and his partner wed at a Hindu temple outside the capital Kathmandu according to the Hindustan Times.

The gay group Blue Diamond Society led by the country’s top gay rights activist and Member of Parliament Sunil Pant.

Pant said he knows of gay local couples who have been married by Hindu priests in the country, but this is the first time a gay foreign couple has been married.

Although Nepal does not legally recognize same-sex marriage, weddings by gay couple that are overseen by a Hindu priest are generally accepted.

Nepal has come a long way since 2007 when the rights of LGBT were brutally suppressed.

Currently, the country is on a massive international campaign to lure gay travellers to the country by offering same-sex weddings at Everest Base Camp. While same-sex marriage isn’t legal yet – although it was widely expected to become the rule of law this past May – gay rights are expected to be enshrined in the country’s new constitution.

The new constitution was supposed to be ready by now but has been delayed because of fighting between political parties.

If Nepal legalizes gay marriage, it will become the first country in Asia to do so. Taiwan introduced legislation to legalize same-sex marriage back in 2003 but the bill hasn’t since yet budged in the country’s legislature. 

Image author: MShades / Chris Gladis