Nepal's LGBT community paraded all over Kathmandu, the nation's capital, to show support for the process of the country's final step in completing a constitution. Deemed as one of the most colorful parades in Nepal's history, the photos of the protest can be seen going around the web, Inquisitr reported.
#Nepal: Sexual minorities parade to demand rights | https://t.co/2YwWPgi8B2 #LGBT #LGBTRights #PrideParade #Gaijatra pic.twitter.com/QQyli64V7D
— myRepública (@RepublicaNepal) August 30, 2015
Nepal’s LGBT community parade for rights in new constitution https://t.co/OBu5AJkbHl pic.twitter.com/Na9y3kYuYx — Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) August 30, 2015
The Nepalese Supreme Court already decriminalized homosexuality in 2007 and ordered government agencies to abolish laws that discriminate people based on their sexual orientation, BBC News reported. Nevertheless, the present constitution does not assure definite rights for the members of the LGBT community. They also want the new constitution to include rights to same-sex marriage, couples of the same sex to adopt, having their own properties, the right to have joint bank accounts and to be able to inherit from each other, according to Curve.
The rally gathered over 500 protesters in downtown Kathmandu. "Our main demand is that the rights of the sexual minorities should be guaranteed in the new constitution," said Pinky Gurung, of the gay rights group Blue Diamond Society, according to the New York Times.
Just this year, Nepal made a move by including an "others" category for this year's passports for those who do not identify themselves as either male or female. The government of Nepal has also released citizenship certificates for those who are members of the "third gender." On the other hand, these certificates are still hard to obtain from some government offices.
This festive parade has been done annually in the past years during Gaijatra, the a Hindu festival that celebrates the dead.
The constitution draft is worked on by the members of Nepal's Constituent Assembly, but the delay is caused by other parties unable to have an agreement with regard to the number and borders of the proposed federal states, Global News reported.
