Great leap forward for Nepal's gays

Pant planted himself in Katmandu's biggest park and handed out free condoms as a public service, seeking to help curb the rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. At the same time, through subtle conversations, he teased out an answer to his ulterior question: Were there other gays and lesbians out there?

Not only was the answer an emphatic yes, but from the ad hoc beginnings sprang what is the most successful gay rights movement in South Asia.

In less than a decade, Pant's organization, the Blue Diamond Society, has scaled massive heights in a nation known mostly to outsiders as the home of Mt. Everest. Despite deep-seated social conservatism, it has won a landmark Supreme Court anti-discrimination ruling, chalked up support for gay rights from two of the nation's biggest political parties and garnered international accolades.

"It's absolutely astonishing," said Scott Long, who works on issues of sexuality for Human Rights Watch. "Considering how few resources they have and the depth of prejudice they have to fight against, what they've achieved is extraordinary."

The advances are part of a larger social and political ferment brewing in Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries. After 10 years of brutal conflict between the government and Maoist insurgents, a peace process and democratic transition are underway.

It will be based on a constitution to be written by a special assembly elected for the task last month. There is a clear sense that everything is up for grabs as Nepal reinvents itself, a rare moment when groups of whatever stripe -- women, ethnic minorities, members of lower Hindu castes -- have a shot at leaving their imprint on the fabric of the state.

"We have a golden opportunity to raise our voice and contribute to this country," the 35-year-old Pant said of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Nepalese. "This is a struggle I think this generation has to do, about being brave and honest."

For years, they were mute. And even now, Nepalese society remains extremely traditional, bound by deeply inscribed values and rigid hierarchies. Conservative mores reign in this majority Hindu country, where millions of uneducated villagers eke out meager livings in near-feudal conditions in the imposing shadow of snowcapped mountains.