Nepali LGBTIQ+ activist Sunil Babu Pant on the significance of Kathmandu’s ‘Pride Parade’

On Sunday, August 10, Nepal’s LGBTIQ+ community celebrated Pride Festival. The festival has been organised for over a decade to coincide with another traditional Kathmandu festival known as ‘Gai Jatra’ in Nepali or as ‘Sa Paru’ in Nepal Bhasha, the local indigenous language of Kathmandu, observed in memory of loved ones. Nepal correspondent Prayas Dulal spoke with Blue Diamond Society founder Sunil Babu Pant about the parade’s history and significance. This podcast was first published in August 2024.

Members of the Blue Diamond Society and the LGBTIQ+ community take part in the national Pride Parade on Sunday, 10 August 2025, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Blue Diamond Society says it organised the parade to celebrate diversity, promote equality, and advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. Source: SIPA USA / Abhishek Maharjan/Abhishek Maharjan/Sipa USA

हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।