Nepal’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of equal marriage, marking a major win for LGBTQ+ rights in South Asia.
On 18 June, the court ordered the Nepali government to ensure equal marriage rights for queer and trans people. The ruling makes Nepal the 40th country worldwide to legally recognise equal marriage.
Equal marriage had previously been recognised in Nepal following an interim Supreme Court ruling in 2023, after a group of nine LGBTQ+ activists challenged the country’s marriage laws, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
That case led the court to order Nepal’s government to create a new marriage register for couples from gender minority communities. In November 2023, Nepal recorded South Asia’s first legally recognised LGBTQ+ marriage, when Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey received official recognition in Lamjung district.
This month’s ruling provides greater certainty and legal security for Nepali LGBTQ+ couples who wish to marry in the future.
Speaking to Nepali non-profit Pahichan on 19 June, human rights activist, monk and former politician Sunil Babu Pant described the decision as historic.
“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,” Pant said.
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 Society, 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 said in a statement.
“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.”
Nepal has long been seen as a regional leader on LGBTQ+ rights. A landmark 2007 Supreme Court decision in Sunil Babu Pant and Others v Nepal Government recognised the rights of sexual and gender minorities and helped establish constitutional protections against discrimination.
For LGBTQ+ couples in Nepal, the latest ruling is not only symbolic. It brings the country closer to full legal recognition of their relationships, families and futures.
