Bardiya – The Ward Office of Barbardiya Municipality Ward No. 8 in Bardiya district has officially registered the marriage of a lesbian couple. Despite efforts by their families to separate them through traditional shamans, the couple successfully obtained legal recognition of their marriage.

Madhu Sunar from Ward No. 4 of Basgadhi Municipality, Bardiya, and Rekha Bishwakarma from Bhagatpur, Ward No. 8 of Barbardiya Municipality, received an official marriage registration certificate.

Ward Secretary Chuman Bahadur Ghartimagar of Ward No. 8 stated that an interim marriage registration certificate was issued to Madhu and Rekha in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order and a circular from the Department of National ID and Civil Registration.

Ghartimagar said the ward office verified the parents’ citizenship documents and conducted a field visit before issuing the certificate. The ward also honored Madhu and Rekha with a traditional scarf (khada) during the registration.

Circular Issued to Facilitate Same-Sex and Third-Gender Marriage Registration

According to Ward Secretary Ghartimagar, this is the second same-sex marriage registered in Bardiya district and the first in Barbardiya Municipality. “We coordinated with other local governments that had previously registered same-sex marriages, and based on the Supreme Court’s order and the department’s circular, we conducted a field visit to verify how long they had been living together before issuing the certificate,” he said.

Rekha expressed joy and gratitude upon receiving the certificate and the ward office’s recognition. “I’m very happy,” Rekha told Pahichan, “The ward office’s respect has added to our excitement.” For the field verification, Rekha had presented five local community members at the ward office.

A few months earlier, their families had tried to “cure” them of their same-sex relationship through spiritual exorcism. After the beatings continued, Madhu ran away to live with Rekha. On Wednesday, 17th of Baisakh (April 30, 2025), they appeared at the ward office and received their marriage certificate.

MayaKo Pahichan Nepal Congratulates the Couple

MayaKo Pahichan Nepal, an organization advocating for the rights of gender and sexual minorities, congratulated Madhu and Rekha on their marriage. Secretary Surendra Pandey said that registering the marriage despite family abuse is a moment of pride. He noted that their legal recognition is a victory against societal and familial oppression.

Madhu and Rekha first met in Bangalore, India. After deciding to live together and marry there, they returned to Nepal. But during the Dashain festival last year, their families opposed the marriage, saying, “How can daughters marry each other?” They treated it like an illness and subjected them to shamans for exorcism.

Both are lesbian (same-sex attracted women). Madhu has completed Grade 12, and Rekha has passed Grade 10. Rekha’s father is no longer alive. After repeated attempts by their families to separate them, they responded by legally registering their marriage and now feel elated to hold the certificate in hand.

Couple Subjected to Exorcism in Attempt to Break Them Apart

The Supreme Court had issued an interim order on 12 Asar (June 26, 2024), stating that same-sex and third-gender couples should be allowed marriage registration (keeping separate records). Following this, the Dordi Rural Municipality office in Lamjung issued South Asia’s first same-sex marriage certificate to Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey.

Later, Badhaiyatal Rural Municipality–2 in Bardiya issued a temporary certificate to lesbian couple Anjudevi Shrestha (Dipti) and Suprita Gurung.

Thanks to MayaKo Pahichan Nepal’s advocacy, the Department of National ID and Civil Registration issued a circular on 12 Baisakh 2081 (April 24, 2025), instructing all 753 local governments to register same-sex marriages. Since then, local governments have been registering such marriages more easily.