Written by: Yojana Gautam - 23068, Grade XII
Posted on: 11 November, 2022
Due to ground-breaking legislation passed in 2007 that forbade discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation, Nepal already has some of South Asia's most advanced laws on homosexuality and transgender rights. In 2013, a third gender category for citizenship documents was added and two years later, Nepal started issuing passports with the ‘others’ category. However, the estimated 900,000-strong LGTBQ minority in Nepal claim that discrimination still exists, notably in the areas of employment, health, and education. LGBTQ activists claim that a lack of data has prevented them from receiving benefits to which they are legally entitled. When compared to the rest of South Asia, Nepal does have a lot of progressive laws regarding such rights. However, many LGBTQ people believe that these rules don't go far enough, and that it is still difficult for sexual and gender minorities to receive equal treatment under the law. Furthermore, the broader general society, which is still very conservative, has not changed as a result of these regulations.
Experiencing or fearing rejection is the most common concern for LGBTQ youth in terms of negative family responses. LGBTQ youth tends to experience negative factors such as rejection and harassment in more heterocentric social environments (e.g., family, school, general community, religion) but that this is less, the case in environments that tend to be more LGTBQ-supportive (e.g., peer groups, and LGBTQ community) in different contexts (both positive and negative) influence LGBTQ youth well-being.
At the time when I was younger, I even used to think in the negative way that society has forced us to make us think about LGBTQ community; but later, when I grew older and started to learn more about LGBTQ through social media and internet, I started realizing that it is NORMAL and it is nothing BAD or anything to be ASHAMED of. So in my perspective, I think, if education about LGBTQ is provided to us at an early stage then people would start taking it in a serious note and start respecting everyone in the society regardless of their sexualities. Calling anyone ‘chakka’ or ‘gay’ mockingly is nothing but something that we were taught by our previous generations, outdated movies, and cringy social media; contents related to LGBTQ can also educate and de-educate a lot of people as in the 21st century digital world, social media plays a great role to influence any individual.
Everyone has their own ways and everyone has their own life and everyone has the right to live in this world; we should always be spreading love and we should always care for each other. Let's try to understand everyone around us and when we start showering love to everyone, the world will be a better place to live in. Nelson Mandela once said, ‘No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.’ So everyone has what it takes to be a good human being. LGBTQ community in our society is still being judged more or less in so many different and improper ways; we are all human beings and all of us are equal. Most importantly, all of us need to develop positive attitudes and spread awareness on this matter, perhaps by including LGBT education in our curriculum in the near future. In conclusion, I would like to say, let us all join hands and create a beautiful place to survive and exist.
