Nepal Celebrates Registration of 1st Same-Sex Marriage

Nepal’s first same-sex marriage was officially registered in Lamjung on Wednesday. The marriage of 27-year-old Surendra Pandey from Kawasoti Municipality-8 in Nawalparasi East and 37-year-old Ram Bahadur Gurung, who prefers to be addressed as Maya, hailing from Dordi Rural Municipality-2 in Lamjung was officially recorded at the ward 2 office of the rural municipality.

As per reports, Surendra and Maya had married in a temple five years back. Now they formalized their marriage legally.

Legal registration of their marriage was possible due to landmark ruling by the Nepal Supreme Court on June 27, ordering the government to officially register marriages involving same-sex and non-heterosexual couples.

Nepal is the second Asian nation, after Taiwan in 2019, to recognize and legalize same-sex marriages.

The recent transition in Nepal to provide equal recognition and rights for the LGBTQ+ community hints at a growing global trend, with these legal and societal shifts shaping a more inclusive landscape for individuals irrespective of their sexual orientation.