Skip to main content

Country Overview

Nepal

At a glance

Same-sex Relations for Men Legal Throughout the Country?

Yes

Same-sex Relations for Women Legal Throughout the Country?

Yes

Legal Gender Recognition Possible?

Yes

LGBTI Orgs Able to Register?

Yes

View more for this country:

Thanks to more progressive societal attitudes and the Supreme Court of Nepal taking a more liberal stance on the rights of LGBTIQ people, Nepal has made progress regarding the rights of sexual and gender minorities in the past fifteen years. A 2007 decision by the Supreme Court of Nepal legalized consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults and called for the full enjoyment of the rights of LGBTIQ persons without discrimination. The Court also ruled that the Nepalese government should include a third gender option on legal documents, although trans people who identify as male or female cannot currently change their legal gender markers to reflect this. The Constitution also includes a provision prohibiting the discrimination of sexual minorities, thereby offering broad protections to LGBTQ individuals. The government also counted LGBTIQ people for the first time in the June 2021 national census, which could help them gain better access to social security, health, and education schemes. LGBTIQ organizations and civil society actors are able to register as such and operate freely across the country. However, LGBTIQ individuals still face harassment, stigmatization, and discrimination due to social taboos, as well as violence, abuse, and arbitrary arrest by police. Same-sex marriage remains unrecognized, and the 2018 Civil Code explicitly defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. 

 

Global Impact

Sub-Saharan Africa

Outright supports LGBTIQ organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and works with mainstream human rights organizations to respect human rights and influence positive changes in laws, policies, attitudes and beliefs that cause discrimination against LGBTIQ people.

View this region

United Nations

Our work at the United Nations centers around advocating for the advancement of the rights of LGBTIQ people.

View this region

Asia

Our work in Asia promotes acceptance of sexual and gender diversity at all levels of society.

View this region

Middle East and North Africa

In the Middle East and North Africa, we partner with local groups in various countries as part of our international solidarity work. We also work with our local partners on different topics through capacity building, advocacy, research and holistic security.



View this region

Europe and Central Asia

Outright International partners with activists to fight for an end to human rights violations based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in Europe and Central Asia, where most of our work involves emergency responses to harassment, discrimination, violence, and most recently, Russia’s brutal and expanded invasion of Ukraine.

View this region

Americas

Our work in the Americas continues to build on the fundamental and positive transformation of human rights protections in recent years. We partner with groups in the Caribbean that focus on ending gender-based violence and eradicating discrimination against trans people.

View this region

Pacific

Our work in the Pacific aims to increase the visibility of activists, respond to human rights emergencies, and actively bridge local, regional, and international activism to achieve equality and justice.

View this region

Human Rights Research

Since 1990, we have partnered with activists from all over the world to produce hundreds of groundbreaking reports.

Read Our Reports