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Climbing the pink mountain
AUG 27 -
Walking through your neighbourhood this past Wednesday, you may have seen a procession following behind a young boy dressed in costume and wearing heavy kohl around his eyes. If you ventured a little bit further to Durbar Marg, there is a good chance you witnessed over a 1,000 grown men from across the country parading in colourful costumes of
their own.
For the past nine years, the lesbian gay bi-sexual transgender inter-sex (LGBTI) community, led by the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), has organised a parade on the day of Gaijatra. Amid increasing awareness, it has gone international this year. Gaijatra, a festival that has been celebrated for at least 300 years in Nepal where men commonly cross-dress or don “queer outfits” for the traditional dances, has proven to be a perfect opportunity to share linkages between age-old customs and the nation’s transgender culture.
As Pradip Khadka, who has worked with BDS for the last four years, says, “Cross dressing and homosexuality are a part of our culture. Though, conventionally, it has not been much talked about or shared, it is not something that has been adopted from somewhere else. That is something we hoped to show the world with this parade.”
The international pink tourism industry, which capitalises on the economic spending power of the gay community (estimated to be more than US $600 billion per year) by promoting LGBTI-friendly destinations, has taken note of Nepal’s changing atmosphere and is expanding beyond traditionally-identified LGBTI travel destinations like San Francisco and Amsterdam.
The rising comfort of gay travellers to Nepal is a reflection of the changes that have been made from within the country. Where five years ago, the LGBTI community often faced abuse at the hands of security officials while transgenders could not walk openly, Nepal now is one of the first countries slated to issue “third gender” citizenship cards and has many supporters within the ranks of the police and Army.
As Sjoerd Warmerdam and Jaco van den Dool, a married couple from the Netherlands that spent a year working in Nepal and now frequent the country as tourists, say, “We feel very comfortable living openly here. Nepali people feel no need to express themselves in an aggressive way.” One example they pointed out was the parade itself: the absence of anti-gay protestors milling around the parade is something that is unheard of at gay rallies and parades in Europe and the US.
Sunil Pant, Nepal’s only openly-gay MP and a driving force behind improving LGBTI rights in Nepal (he founded BDS), says, “Now, Nepal is a supportive, friendly country. The progress that we have made here has inspired others to visit and learn more about Nepal.” But this fact still isn’t commonly known among the international LGBTI community. Dominic Hannigan, one of two openly gay senators in the Irish Parliament, came to Nepal to participate in the gay parade. When he returns home, he will work to increase awareness about Nepal’s LGBTI-friendly environment. “Most gay travellers are unaware of the progress that Nepal has made in the past decade.” He says there is often insecurity about their acceptance upon arrival in a country; there are a limited number of places across the world where gays can feel safe and comfortable. “Are they going to be welcomed? What is it going to be like when they check in at the hotel?” These are all things that gay tourists consider before deciding whether to visit a country. Pant says, “It is good for them to know that Nepal is open.”
Nepal, which offers travel options that deviate from common LGBTI-friendly locals, is gaining popularity for those seeking more adventurous vacations. In addition, after a December 2007 Supreme Court ruling in favour of same-sex marriages, gay couples are now exploring Nepal as a wedding and honeymoon destination. Though same-sex marriages or civil unions have yet to be given legal status, this is something expected to be enshrined in the new constitution. And even though Nepal doesn’t legally marry foreigners, they will still be issued a certificate that is a socially-recognised contract.
But some social hurdles remain. Despite Nepal Tourism Board’s claimed openness to “all brands, themes, sexualities, and sexual interests,” the organisation still seems to hold some reservations about an increasing influx of LGBTI tourists. “We’re not trying to convert Nepal into another Bangkok,” says Laxman Gautam, public relations manager at NTB, illustrating the common naive association of pink tourism with sex tourism for which Thailand is often identified.
Needless to say, there is still much progress to be made. As Khadka says, “It’s a process.” Changes in Nepal have begun to slowly carve out a niche in society for the transgender community, something that is still lacking for the relatively-invisible gay and lesbian communities. He says there are still changes that need to happen before society accepts openly gay and lesbian individuals. Also, Wermarden highlights the lack of gay infrastructure, like clubs or bars. “Gays, whether they be foreigners or local, don’t have a place to go and hang-out here.”
To improve national awareness, Khadka says that education about sexual minority communities has to be reviewed. An effort has already been initiated; from next year, the National Curriculum will include lessons about sexual minorities into the course curriculum.
BDS hopes to increase awareness and promote Nepal as a pink travel destination by drawing more people to next year’s parade. Though currently the parade is a major event for transgenders, Khadka believes that “after five years, the parade will be identified as a source of gay and lesbian pride” as well.
Posted on: 2010-08-28 08:57
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