LGBTQ+ Marriage Recognised In Nepal In First For South Asia

A couple in Nepal said they wanted to "scream to the world that we are husband and wife at last" after becoming the first LGBTQ+ people in south Asia to have their marriage legally recognised.

- Gaurav Pokharel, Hannah Ellis-Petersen 

Maya Gurung, 38, a transgender woman, and Surendra Pandey, 27, were given a legal certificate in Nepal's Lamjung district on Wednesday.

"I cannot even say how happy I am right now," Gurung said yesterday. "We were fighting for a long time. With the support of everyone in the struggle of more than two decades, yesterday was a very auspicious day for us. Society will now accept us and it has opened the door to marriage for many like us."

Pandey was equally elated. "We won! We won the big battle," he said. "I can now say we are husband and wife loudly. I think society will also change because of this."

Gurung and Pandey met eight years ago at a restaurant and hit it off instantly. They went for a walk together by the Narayani River and began to talk about their lives and the shared loss of their parents.