Nepal gives formal recognition to third gender

A 21-year-old lesbian has become the first person in Nepal to be officially recognised as a third gender person under the Maoist-led new government, a move being hailed as a landmark for sexual minorities in a country still dominated by a strong feudal society.

Bishnu Adhikari, who was forced to leave her home in Pokhara town by outraged relatives and neighbours, on Wednesday became the first person in Nepal to be given an official identity card that described her sex as "third gender" instead of the usual male and female categories.

She was issued an official ID that gave her gender as "Third".

Naulo Bihani (New Dawn), a Nepali NGO that works for the rights of gays and lesbians in Kaski district in central Nepal, said Adhikari had applied for citizenship at the Kaski district administration office asking for an ID that would identify her as third gender.

Adhikari, a human rights officer employed by the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), the pioneer organisation in Nepal to champion the cause of gays and lesbians, was inspired to ask for a third gender ID after Nepal's first publicly gay lawmaker Sunil Babu Pant visited Pokhara about 10 days ago.