Nepal, Asia's LGBT Mecca

by Michael Jones · 2010-01-21 19:45:00 UTC
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NepalMaybe someone in Nepal's tourism ministry might want to test out the bumper sticker, "From Civil War to Civil Marriage." The country, which less than five years ago was still feeling the effects of a brutal civil war between the government and Maoist rebels, will have in five months the only constitution in Asia that guarantees equal rights to sexual minorities.

A few years ago, the Nepalese Supreme Court ruled that the country should examine laws around the world that allow for equal rights for LGBT people, and find a way to incorporate such principles in their own constitution. The country looked at Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, and a host of other countries where LGBT people are served the full buffet platter of equal rights (note the U.S. is not on that list).

The end result of that research will come to fruition in May 2010, when Nepal adopts its new constitution. Same-sex marriage? Yup, that'll be in there. Non-discrimination language directed toward LGBT people? Yup, that's in there, too. How about separate citizenship IDs for third-gendered people? Yup, that's covered as well.

Which means that Nepal's constitution, once it becomes official, might just become the most progressive document on the face of the planet this side of Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky or Rachel Maddow.

Which, coming back full circle to the topic of tourism, has folks thinking that Nepal might just become the LGBT capital of Asia, if not the world. The moment that constitution becomes legal in May, one tourist company is going to launch an effort to turn Mount Everest into "Pink Mountain," a destination spot for gay and lesbian couples around the world to get hitched.

Sunil Pant, one of Nepal's leading LGBT rights activists and the only openly gay member of Parliament on the entire continent of Asia, is going to head up the tourist company. His fairly astute conclusion is that Nepal's economy stands to gain a lot from gay marriage. (Huh, that's something folks have been saying about U.S. states for quite some time, too!)

"Most Asian countries don't welcome gay visitors, so we can have the maximum benefit for the Nepal economy which is fragile after years of war," Pant said.

Make love, not war. Or in the case of Nepal, make equality, not war. Different words, same principles.

Photo credit: Wonderlane

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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