Nepal’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of same-sex marriage in a major victory for LGBTQ+ rights. On June 18, the court ordered the South Asian country’s government to ensure equal marriage rights for LGBTQ+ people. The decision makes Nepal the 40th country worldwide to legally recognise same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage had previously been acknowledged in Nepal following an interim ruling in 2023, when a group of nine LGBTQ+ activists challenged laws defining marriage strictly as a union between a man and a woman.
Nepal officially registered its first LGBTQ+ marriage on November 29, 2023, between a trans woman and a cisgender man, who had originally married in 2017 but only received formal recognition of their union six years later.
The earlier lawsuit prompted the court to direct the government to establish a new marriage register for couples from gender minority communities. This month’s ruling goes further, providing greater certainty and long-term legal security for LGBTQ+ couples wishing to marry.
Speaking to Nepali non-profit Pahichan on June 19, human rights activist, monk and former politician Sunil Babu Pant said: “This landmark ruling marks a historic milestone for equality, dignity, and human rights in Nepal, while providing crucial legal clarity and protection for the rights of same-sex couples.”
They continued: “The verdict reaffirms the constitutional principles established in Sunil Babu Pant vs Nepal govt, and strengthened through later cases, including Maya Surendra’s first-ever legal registration of non-traditional heterosexual marriage in Nepal. It confirms that gender and sexual minority couples are entitled to equal protection of the law and reinforces Nepal’s commitment to inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination.”
The Blue Diamond, an LGBTQ+ rights organisation based in Nepal, also celebrated the decision. “The ruling is now the fourth Supreme Court decision over nearly two decades that makes clear: the freedom to marry the person you love is a guarantee under Nepal’s Constitution, and LGBTQIA+ couples and their families must be afforded the dignity, respect, and protections that only marriage can provide,” the group shared in a statement on Instagram.
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“With this victory, a counter-writ petition filed by advocate Yuvraj Paudel aiming to block these rights was decisively dismissed by the court,” it continued. “We, the Blue Diamond Society team, welcome this important milestone from the Supreme Court of Nepal towards ensuring marriage equality provisions in Nepal and are excited to witness the next steps from the Government in translating this ruling into practice.”
Previously, in its 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court of Nepal requested that the government begin registering same-sex marriages, making Nepal the second country in Asia and the first in South Asia to register LGBTQ+ unions.
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