Call to address legal gaps in citizenship acquisition by sexual and gender minorities

Kathmandu, Dec 27: Speakers at a discussion underlined the need for removing legal complexities facing people from sexual and gender minorities in acquiring citizenship and other official identity documents.

At a discussion program organized by the Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FWLD) here Friday, the participants complained that despite the verdict from the Supreme Court, various district administration offices are reluctant to issue citizenship to them.

Advocate Sushma Gautam voiced support for the legal recognition of sexual and gender minorities. Queers Youth Group’s Ruksana Kapali said she had so far registered 25 cases at the Supreme Court, seeking official identity cards for sexual and gender minorities and calling for legal reforms to improve the legal rights of this community.

Blue Diamond Society’s Sanjay Sharma said all people from the sexual and gender communities are for judicial activism to obtain citizenship. “Hence, legal gaps in this regard need prompt address.” Sudip Gautam from the Society said the birth registration certificate had just recognized male and female children, causing problems for the guardians in registering births of children from the third-gender community.

Advocate at the Forum Binu Lama said our law only imagines the marriage between men and women, excluding the possibility of same-sex marriage, insisting on collective efforts to address this legal gap. —RSS