Nepal is the only South Asian country to recognize the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, according to a senior United Nations human rights official.
Jyoti Sanghera on Thursday hailed Nepal’s initiatives to recognize the rights of the minority groups, terming it as ground breaking decision on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Nepal’s Supreme Court in December 2007 recognized the rights of sexual minorities, including equal recognition before the law.
Sanghera said that lesbian women in Nepal have been subjected to "corrective rapes’"and denigrated in other horrific ways.
Despite the ruling by Nepal’s apex court, sexual minorities continue to face problems to acquire citizenship certificates, she said.
Meanwhile, another UN body, UN Women, which focuses on the empowerment of women and girls, has highly praised Nepal for its “notable legal reforms” in the field of gender equality and for “setting an example not only to the region but also to developed nations.”
The report said that reforms over the past two decades have shored up women's personal and economic security and given them a greater voice in decision making.
Nepal is one of only a few countries that has reserved at least 30 percent of the seats in its parliament for women.
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