Fridae

Update from Sunil Pant on Sep 16 via Facebook:

Sunil Pant and other activists on Sep 16 met with the Prime Minister who told Pant that "he would solve the Citizenship ID problem soon." He added that activists need to continue to keep up the pressure on government officials.

According to media reports, some 70 LGBT activists were arrested after they entered an prohibited area while staging a protest in front of the country's main administrative complex in the capital city of Kathmandu. They were demanding that the Home ministry issues citizenship papers to those who want their gender marked as "third sex" instead of male or female.

[The third sex includes metis who are generally defined as biological males who typically have a feminine orientation and physical appearance but may or may not wish to undergo sex realignment surgery as well as individuals whose gender identity is not fully aligned with his or her biological sex.]

In 2007, Nepal became the first country in the world to officially recognise a "third gender" following the Supreme Court's ruling that sexual and gender minorities are "natural persons" and as such should be guaranteed the same rights as other citizens.

Sunil Pant

The activists, who announced a hungerstrike, were protesting against Home Minister Bhim Rawal who, according to the activists, has refused to authorise the issuance of identity cards to the third sex despite the court ruling.

"We are running out of patience and are demanding our rights," Pant, the founder of the Blue Diamond Society, a gay rights group, was quoted as saying by India's Deccan Herald.

"We are ashamed to have a government whose minister denies citizens a legal ID, which is a fundamental right. You can't survive in Nepal without a legal ID. Third genders can't enrol in college, get jobs or inherit ancestral property. They can't open a bank account or travel. Even being treated in hospital is a problem," Pant said.

The activists were released on the same day at 5pm.

Reuters quoted Kathmandu police chief Ramesh Kharel as saying that the activists were detained for "violating the norms" by gathering at a place where demonstrations were not allowed.

In a message to regional LGBT email groups today, Pant said he and other activists had gathered at Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's office today but were unsuccessful in seeking in a meeting, and will continue to seek an audience with the PM tomorrow.

Last month, hundreds of gays, lesbians and transsexuals marched in Nepal's ninth gay pride parade in Kathmandu.