Transgender woman Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey became the first LGBTQ+ couple to have their marriage legally recognized in South Asia after they received a legal certificate in Nepal's Lamjung district on Nov. 29, The Guardian reported.
Gurung said: "I cannot even say how happy I am right now. We were fighting for a long time. With the support of everyone in the struggle of more than two decades, yesterday was a very auspicious day for us."
Six years ago, they held a Hindu religious marriage ceremony; however, they have since faced various legal and social difficulties as their union was not recognized under the law.
Sunil Babu Pantthe founder of the Blue Diamond Society, the first LGBTQ+-rights organization in Nepaldescribed the wedding as a "historic day." Pant was present with Gurung and Pandey when they registered their marriage, NBC News noted.
The couple and Pant filed cases with the Kathmandu District Court and High Court, but were rejected. Then, according to Pant, the Home Ministry recently made changes in the process that allowed all local administration offices to register same-sex marriages.
Andrew Davis