It was only as recently as 2007, that homosexuality was still a crime in Nepal, with a prison sentence of up to two years. Gay and lesbian people were beaten up and harassed by the police, denounced by Maoist rebels as “a product of capitalism”.
Yet first forward three short years to now, the present day and this tiny Himalayan nation is so different, it quite takes your breath away. For it is not only set to become the first in Asia to allow same sex marriages:, it's also promoting gay weddings on Everest in an attempt to become the continent’s top gay tourist destination!
“We’re completely changing this country. It’s a newborn republic — and we want to showcase this change,” Sharat Singh Bhandari, the Tourism Minister, told The Times. “We also want to re-establish tourism as a major industry.” He aims to attract one million tourists in 2011, more than double the number last year.
He kicked off the marketing campaign in October with a written message to the International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism in Boston — an unprecedented gesture for an Asian minister. “As the world knows, Nepal is the land of Mount Everest, world’s highest peak and the birth place of Lord Buddha, light of Asia,” the message said. “I, therefore, would like to take this opportunity to invite and welcome all the sexual and gender minorities from around the world.”
© 2010 Copyright Jason Shaw
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