Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rojita Adhikari in Dordi

‘We can have a beautiful future now’: Nepal’s first legally married same-sex couple celebrates

Same-sex couple Surendra Pandey and Maya Gurung celebrate after their marriage, Kathmandu, Nepal
Surendra Pandey and Maya Gurung, a transgender woman, were legally registered as married in Lamjung district, Nepal, on 1 December. Photograph: Aryan Dhimal/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

The dancing continued until the early hours. Family and friends – and Suru the dog – gathered in western Nepal to mark the joyful end to what had been a historic day for Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey. On Wednesday, they became the first same-sex couple in south Asia to have their marriage legally recognised.

“Finally, we are completely together, finally we are completely each other’s, finally we can perform each other’s funeral if we die tomorrow,” Gurung, 37, a transgender woman, says as the couple sit in the register office in rural Dordi municipality, where she was born.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.