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I am. Uh I'm from Nepal. A new one. I'm Bakti. I'm from Nepal. I came to this conference to learn new things, make new friends and then get the knowledge [00:00:30] back to country. More Blue Diamond Society. I belong to Blue Diamond Society, which is a gay rights organisation in Nepal. Blue Diamond Society Blue Diamond [00:01:00] L Blue Diamond Society was found [00:01:30] in 2001 Blue Diamond Society has been supporting gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgender people from across the country. This is the only organisation have effectively empowered the gays lesbians, bisexual, transgender into sex people now under the umbrella of Blue Diamond Society. There are more than 350,000 LGBT [00:02:00] across Nepal who are in a position to stand for their rights and fight injustices. How are LGBTI people treated in Nepal [00:02:30] Supreme Court Court decision Before 2001 before the Blue Diamond Society, LGBTI faced a lot of discrimination. Even they were called names walking in the streets. But after that, the situation has improved, particularly after 2007, when the Supreme Court decided in favour of LGBTI Nepal. [00:03:00] The situation has improved for better. What happened in 2007. In a petition [00:03:30] filed by Blue Diamond Society, the court ordered the government to recognise third genders as equal citizens of Nepal. The court also ordered to form a seven members committee to draught the same sex marriage bill, which is ongoing now. The court also ordered the government to scrap or amend all the discrimination laws against LGBTI. How did the rest of the population respond to those changes [00:04:00] [00:04:30] counselling? The first reaction from the people was Oh, this decision will will influence more more perversion. But after the follow counselling from Blue Diamond Society, people are taking it positively. [00:05:00] There are more than 350,000 who have gone in contact to Blue Diamond Society across Nepal. There are many more who are closeted and then still yet to reach. Since since 2007 have you seen a change in people's attitudes towards lesbian and gay transgender [00:05:30] intersex people? Big changes before people used to call name, even walking in the streets. Now it's much less and we ourselves also [00:06:00] very proud of who we are and then, like I, I can live and then get around saying I'm a person of third gender to, [00:06:30] for example, born female but grew as man or born male grew as women are called. Third changes [00:07:00] [00:07:30] like men and women live in society. We also want to live, and then that's what our struggle is about. And then we have made some achievements, but we have a long way to go. [00:08:00] Uh, it's, uh, the right to live with our partner of our choice, like the heterosexual couples are are enjoying. So it it's a recognition of our relationship as a marriage and then have a full recognition of family that we we form [00:08:30] coming to this conference. What would you like to take away from from this experience? Yeah, [00:09:00] There are a lot of new things I've been learning meeting new people. I haven't decided what exactly. I will take home back, which I will do end of tomorrow because we are still 1.5 a day. Where to go? I'm just excited to be here in 30 years time [00:09:30] when somebody hears this recording or they hear it 30 years from now. What would you like to say to them of this? No, [00:10:00] Zealand, [00:10:30] I don't think people would care much after 30 years about our struggle today because even in countries like Nepal, the rights will be insured for everyone, including third genders. But if they are recording in a website and somebody listen, probably they would think, Oh, you know, even people like third gender from Nepal came to New Zealand, attended this conference and they did the hardest struggle for the [00:11:00] for the equality and the environment we have today. Thank you.
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