Nepal gays draw heart from Ricky Martin

The Times of India

Published: 3/30/10

KATHMANDU: Latino heartthrob Ricky Martin’s announcement through his official web site that he is gay comes as a shot in the arm for Nepal’s homosexual community, who are hoping it will help them win a case against “injustice”.

“We are absolutely joyous that Ricky Martin has honestly revealed his sexual orientation,” said Sunil Babu Pant, the Himalayan nation’s only openly gay celebrity who is now also an icon for the sexual minorities in South Asia. “The coming out of celebrities helps the cause of grassroot lesbian, gay and third gender people. It raises their self-esteem and makes society regard them with a more positive attitude.”

Pant, who is an MP as well as founder of Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal’s pioneer gay rights organisation, is hoping that the Ricky Martin incident will help the court case BDS is fighting to get justice for a lesbian traffic cop who has been under arrest since last month. Ramina Hussain, in her late 20s, says she fell in love with a 17-year-old girl she met while being pressed into domestic duty at the resident of a senior police officer. The two, according to Hussain, fell in love despite fierce opposition from the former’s family.

According to the deposition filed in Supreme Court, the teen decided to leave her home and the two began living together about three months ago. When her family came to know where she had gone, they forced her to come back and compelled her to say Hussain had kidnapped her, subsequently leading to Hussain’s arrest. BDS says the teen’s aunt is a senior police officer and so, there is pressure from police authorities to prevent Hussain’s release under bail. The hearing is being deliberately stalled.

Pant wishes gay celebrities in Nepal would also start coming out of the closet, which would help erasing the discrimination and injustice faced by gays in the lower rungs of society. “There are gays in Nepal’s high society as well as Bollywood and Hollywood,” he says. “There are some in the extended former royal family of Nepal as well. However, it takes time to come out.”

Martin’s revelation, he says, is no surprise to the world gay community. “During international conferences, when we discussed potentially gay celebrities, Martin’s name often popped up. Being a family man and in limelight, it takes a lot of guts to come out. Congratulations, Martin, for coming out as you are, finally.”

Nepal to Offer Everest Weddings to Attract More Gay Tourists

Associated Press, InTransit Blog New York Times

March 15, 2010, 9:42 am

Youth Group Meeting

Come to the Youth Group Meeting!
Date: Saturday March 20th
Time: 4-6pm
Place: LGBT Center 208 W 13th Street

It’ll be lots of fun and you can meet cool new people.
Ages 24 & younger.

SALGA Youth Group is a safe, confidential place for queer South Asians between the ages of thirteen and twenty-four to discuss issues facing our community. Whether you need support coming out, or have questions about your legal rights as queer youth, or are just trying to connect with fellow South Asians, this is the space for you! Depending on what members want, the group can provide social events, community outings, discussions, and participation in political events.

SALGA NYC Youth is the youth branch of SALGA NYC, a volunteer organization which serves the needs the South Asian queer community both politically and socially in New York City.

Saturday 3/13 - SALGA Monthly Support Group Meeting

Join us on Saturday 3/13 for our monthly support group meeting.

Date: Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Time: 4pm - 6pm

Meeting location:
LGBT Center

Meeting Topic:
Healthcare

This meeting space is available for people who trace their descent from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tibet as well as people of South Asian descent from other regions, including but not limited to the West Indies, Africa, Southeast Asia, Canada and the U.K.

The objective of the meeting is to provide a safe space for people where they can freely discuss and share aspects of their experiences as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals.

Facilitators guide the meeting which provides the opportunity for open dialogue about issues important to the participants. Individuals decide on their own level of involvement.

It is the hope of SALGA that you feel welcome in this gathering and be able meet and make friends with people who can better understand, share and empathize with you.

Visit www.gaycenter.org for directions to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban

Activists embraced outside the high court in New Delhi after the court decriminalized consensual gay sex on Thursday. [Harish Tyagi/European Pressphoto Agency]

By HEATHER TIMMONS and HARI KUMAR
Published: July 2, 2009
Source:  The New York Times

NEW DELHI —In a landmark ruling Thursday that could usher in an era of greater freedom for gay men and lesbians in India, New Delhi’s highest court decriminalized homosexuality.

“The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone,” judges of the Delhi High Court wrote in a 105-page decision, India’s first to directly address rights for gay men and lesbians. “Those perceived by the majority as ‘deviants’ or ‘different’ are not on that score excluded or ostracized,” the decision said.

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861, when British rulers codified a law prohibiting “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal.” The law, known as Section 377 of India’s penal code, has long been viewed as an archaic holdover from colonialism by its detractors.

“Clearly, we are all thrilled,” said Anjali Gopalan, the executive director and founder of the Naz Foundation, an AIDS awareness group that sued to have Section 377 changed. “It is a first major step,” she said during a news conference in Delhi, but “there are many more battles.”
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