Monsoon Wedding: Nepal's Pride and Progress

Cue the Weather Girls: despite monsoon rains in Kathmandu, Nepal's first international LGBT pride parade went off without a hitch last week. Hundreds of revelers gathered in the streets for the celebration, held in conjunction with the traditional festival of Gai Jatra, and lead (literally) by the country's outspoken gay parliamentarian Sunil Pant, who headed up the procession through the city's main thoroughfares atop an elephant.

According to a report posted on Monsters and Critics, the festivities drew more than 500 participants, among them local politicians, including "Nepal's first transgender politician, Bhumika Shrestha, marching down the street in a purple sari — the colour representing change," and the British Ambassador and embassy staff. While smaller events have been held over the years to coincide with Gai Jatra, a commemorative festival marked by flamboyant costumes and lively parades, this year's was the first to draw international attention and was markedly larger than those held in years past.

But Nepal's progress doesn't stop at just a good party. Pant's longstanding efforts to make the country a destination for gay tourists from abroad began to pay off earlier this month, when the first same-sex marriage of an international couple took place there. A British citizen and his Indian partner were wed by a Hindu priest in a ceremony organized by Pant's Blue Diamond Society on August 17. Priest-performed marriage ceremonies are generally accepted by Nepalese society, although the nation does not yet legally recognize same-sex marriage, something Pant is hoping to change with a bill that's currently going through parliament. Here's hoping that the new constitution slated to be enacted next year gives Nepal's LGBT community something to really celebrate.

Photo credit: jamiefromscotland