In Photos: First Same-Sex Couple to Register Marriage in Nepal Celebrate Union

The union of Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey was registered on 29 November. This is how the couple celebrated.

Earlier this month, Nepal scripted history by becoming the first country in South Asia to legally recognise a marriage between a same-sex couple.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Authorities in Lamjung district of western Nepal formally registered the union of Maya Gurung (right) and Surendra Pandey on 29 November. This made them the first queer couple to register their marriage in Nepal. The couple celebrated their union with friends and family earlier this week.

The registration occurred in Dordi rural municipality months after Nepal's Supreme Court issued an interim order allowing same-sex couples to register their marriages pending a final verdict.

The couple have been together for almost a decade. While Maya Gurung is a transgender woman, who has not changed her gender on official documents, Pandey was born and identifies as male.

Back in 2017, the couple tied the knot in a temple ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city.

On 13 July this year, a district court in Kathmandu refused to register their marriage despite the Supreme Court's order that directed the government to register such unions until it prepared legislation to change the law.

The district court had argued that lower courts were not bound to follow the order as it was only directed at the government.

The couple met eight years ago at a restaurant, according to local media reports.

Sunil Pant (middle), a leading LGBT activist and a former lawmaker in Nepal, called the "historic" moment a victory for sexual and gender minorities. “It will open the door for them to open joint bank accounts, own property, and transfer property. They will receive all such benefits that heterosexual couples in our country enjoy," he told The Quint.

Apart from Nepal, Taiwan is the only other country to legalise same-sex marriage in Asia.