Nepal’s 2024 Pride Parade: Thousands join vibrant rally in support of LGBTQ+ rights

Hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters rallied in Nepal’s capital on Tuesday during the vibrant annual Pride parade, celebrating diversity and calling for equal rights and acceptance. (Photo: AP)

After years of struggle, gay couples were able to register same-sex marriages for the first time in Nov 2023 following a Supreme Court order that directed the government to make arrangements for the registration of marriages for same-sex couples. (Photo: AP)

"Gai Jatra festival is a festival that is a long tradition that has been carried for years and we all are here to help preserve and continue the tradition, and as a sexual minority are doing our part to save the tradition. We also celebrate the day as a pride parade," said a gay rights activist who was at the parade. (Photo: AP)

The Gai Jatra festival is celebrated to remember family members who have passed away during the year but has long had colorful parades that brought in sexual minorities to join the parade. (Photo: AP)

Nepal has transformed a court decision in 2007 asking the government to make changes in favor of LGBTQ+ people. People who do not identify as female or male are now able to choose "third gender" on their passports and other government documents. (Photo: AP)

The annual Pride rally saw participation from a government minister, diplomats, and officials, starting at the city's tourist hub and winding through its main streets. (Photo: AP)

Dozens of young men and women, dressed in costumes, masks and animal ensembles, marched in a gay pride reminding one of the Mardi Gras celebrations in Brazil. (Photo: AP)

Sexual minority rights activists have long sought to amend laws to permit same-sex marriage and end provisions that limit marriage to heterosexual couples in Nepal. (Photo: AP)