Written by Sunil Babu Pant,
I was heart broken to see the ongoing struggle and fight for justice by these two individuals, who sacrificed so much for the country they ‘made to believe’ and for their love, even more…
Dukhani, born female and now identify as Manish Yadav (as Female to Male third gender), was a child soldier to PLA (people’s liberation army)of Maoist in Nepal and his partner Sarita, was also a soldier with PLA. Both are from Terai-Madesh region of Nepal.
They believed the Maoist in their teenage, joined the front lines during ‘war time’ but after peace accord signed between the Maoist and the Government of Nepal, they were jailed by their seniors within the PLA.
They vanished after the first verification by UNMIN, re-appeared after a while and came to Blue Diamond Society. They already missed the second verification by UNMIN, so missed out all the benefits, pay roles and other support programs provided to the PLA soldiers by the government and by the international communities.
They out cried to get some justice and remedy, but in vain. Joined the Blue Diamond Society’s LGBTI rights movement in a small town in the eastern part of Nepal, started new life.
Times passed by, they wanted to move on and live life with limited means and extremely limited rights that Nepal offers to it’s Sexual and Gender minority citizens. They opted for a test tube baby, 8 months ago their dream came true, they have a beautiful daughter. But state refuses to register birth of their child, repeatedly asks father’s identification, father’s citizenship ID, marriage certificate and so many humiliating questions, which they don’t have the answers. They are heart broken again…………………………….
This is the only news link I could find in google today from their 2007’s out cry for some remedy, it was more widely reported then…
http://www.rxpgnews.com/nepal/Maoists-jail-women-for-lesbianism_printer.shtml
From rxpgnews.com
NEPAL
Maoists ‘jail’ women for lesbianism
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS, Apr 9, 2007–1:29:08 PM
Kathmandu, April 9 — Two young women were ‘jailed’ by Maoist guerrillas in southern Nepal for being lesbians, Nepal’s sole gay rights group has said.
Dukhani Choudhary, 16, and Sarita Choudhury, 20, were ‘arrested’ in Pakali village in Sunsari district March 2 after the Maoists, who do not condone same sex relationships, came to know the two were lesbians, the Blue Diamond Society, a Kathmandu-based organization for sexual minorities, told IANS.
The two were going to the office of an NGO working in the HIV/AIDS sector in Itahari to take part in Holi when they were detained by the Maoists and forced to go to the rebel camp in Singiya village for questioning.
The girls, who are virtually illiterate and work as labourers, were asked about their relationship.
A Maoist cadre at their initial six-hour interrogation reportedly told them they would have to ‘undergo a blood test to check if they were lesbians’.
Sunil Pant, president of BDS, said he was disturbed by the fact that when they informed the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Biratnagar, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s hometown, the office’s main concern was that Dukhani was a minor.
Soon after the incident, the two girls simply vanished.
However, Monday morning, they landed up at the BDS office here where they told Pant they had been detained in the Maoist camp for a month.
Pant said the girls complained they were thrashed and forced to lead a ‘straight life’ by becoming Maoist cadres.
They were reportedly made to carry weapons and take part in Maoist activities against their will. However, they managed to give their captors the slip.
Last month, alarmed by an anti-gay drive by Maoists, BDS organised an interaction programme attended by influential Maoist women’s leader Hisila Yami, who was named the physical planning and infrastructure minister April 1.
Yami reportedly said’ ‘We don’t punish homosexuals but we also don’t encourage homosexual behaviour.’
However, Pant says contrary to the avowed party policy, the Maoist cadres were widely abusing and violating the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.
BDS has called a two-day convention here Wednesday to discuss the new constitution and the rights it gives to Nepal’s sexual minorities.
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Now in this news link below, they are asking the government to register their ‘fruit of love’s birth’. The link also has video of them speaking in Nepali language (which is not their mother tongue though).
http://pahichan.com/yadav-
Kathmandu (Pahichan) October 2 — Manish Yadav has given birth to a test-tube baby in consent with his partner. Now, Yadav is in confusion when he was asked to come up with citizenship and marriage certificate of father for birth registration of child.
Manish was born as girl and she has the citizenship of girl. Legally, it is a very tough job to change the citizenship certificate.
At the same time, her marital status is not accepted in the society. She asked, why cannot I register the birth of my children? She raised this question in National Consultative Meeting.
In the meeting, Rakshya Poudel of Beyond Beijing Committee said they are working in the field of gender equality and empowerment. This community has received the cultural recognition of marriage but there is lack of legal status.
Bandana Rana, a member of Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) said it has been just a decade since she came to know about this community. She suggested at civil society could prepare a shadow report.
“All the members of this community should study. It is better if all issues are accommodating in a single report,” said Rana. Rights activist Durga Thapa underlined the need of implementation of all suggestions. —
…………………………………….
Will they ever get justice from the past and the ongoing injustices they are facing in day to day lives? Will the new born child will ever get recognition as she too is a child, regardless of her parent’s gender identity or sexual orientation or their marital status?
Finally, will the government of Nepal stops ostracizing and punishing sexual and gender minorities just for being who ‘we’ are?
This article was written by Sunil Babu Pant. Sunil Babu Pant is the first openly gay politician in Nepal and member of parliament (2008-12). He founded Blue diamond Society in 2001 and led the organization until 2013. Moreover, at the meeting for the historic adoption of The Yogyakarta Principles held in November 2006, he was one of 29 experts. He filed written petition against the government of Nepal in supreme court and won the case in Dec. 2007 that legalize diverse sexual and gender identities.
