Nepal’s Blue Diamond Society has replaced its usual Pride and Gai Jatra celebrations with a candlelight ceremony in solidarity with communities devastated by recent floods.
The LGBTQ+ rights organisation gathered in Kathmandu to remember people killed in the disaster, as well as members of Nepal’s gender and sexual minority communities who had died over the past year.
Rather than hold its usual colourful celebration, the group said it wanted to “remember, mourn, support and care together”.
Pride Becomes A Moment Of Solidarity
The ceremony included candles and prayers for those who had died, people still missing, those recovering from injuries and families grieving loved ones.
The floods struck Nepal on 26 August, causing widespread destruction and triggering a major search-and-rescue operation.
Blue Diamond Society president Umisha Pandey said the LGBTQ+ community wanted to stand alongside the rest of the country during the crisis.
“We stand with our nation in this difficult hour,” she said.
LGBTQ+ activist Bhumika Shrestha also thanked members of the SOGIESC community for showing solidarity at a time of national mourning.
BDS Pledges Flood Relief Donation
Blue Diamond Society has also pledged NPR 100,000 (NZD $1,111) to Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
The organisation said the decision to scale back its usual Pride festivities reflected a broader sense of responsibility to support people affected by the disaster.
“Our Pride is also our solidarity,” BDS said.
“We remember. We stand together. We care.”
A Different Kind Of Pride
Gai Jatra has long carried themes of remembrance and mourning in Nepal, while LGBTQ+ communities have also used the festival as an important space for visibility and Pride.
This year, those traditions came together in a particularly sombre way.
For Nepal’s rainbow communities, the event became less about celebration and more about showing that Pride can also mean collective care, mourning and standing alongside the wider community in difficult times.
