I had the opportunity to attend the book launch of \u2018\u0932\u093f\u0919\u094d\u0917\u0926\u0947\u0916\u093f \u092e\u093e\u0928\u0935 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0915\u0943\u0924\u093f\u0938\u092e\u094d\u092e\u2019, authored by Sunil Babu Pant, at Lekhnath Hall, Kamaladi, Kathmandu. Before attending the programme, I had very little knowledge about the book or the GSM (Gender and Sexual Minority\/LGBTIQ+ community. I was curious about the event, but I had no idea that the discussions would make me rethink many of my assumptions about gender and identity.<\/p>\n
As the hall gradually filled with guests, media representatives, and members of the GSM community, the programme began with the formal launch of the book. The master of ceremonies then introduced the invited guests and speakers, who shared their views and reflections on the book and its themes.<\/p>\n
Among the various discussions, one particular observation by a student of Tribhuvan University caught my attention. She drew an interesting comparison between the third eye and the third gender. She explained that, in our cultural and spiritual traditions, particularly in relation to Lord Shiva, the third eye symbolises wisdom, power, and higher consciousness. Yet, when the word \u2018third\u2019 is used in the context of gender, it is often misunderstood and associated with something inferior or outside the accepted social categories. This comparison made me realise how easily we accept certain interpretations influenced by Western perspectives without critically examining them in the context of our own culture, history, and society.<\/p>\n
Another thoughtful contribution came from a female social researcher, who questioned the very practice of categorising people as the first, second, or third gender. If one group is called the third gender, who decided which genders should be considered first and second? Why should gender be understood through a hierarchy in the first place? She connected this question to the patriarchal structure of society, where women themselves have historically struggled for equal rights, recognition, and a voice. Her remarks encouraged me to think about how deeply social hierarchies influence the way we understand and classify people.<\/p>\n
A simple example involving a lemon and a chilli also caught my attention. A lemon is naturally sour, while a chilli is naturally hot. These are simply their respective characteristics. Neither is wrong for being what it is. Similarly, people should not be discriminated against simply because of their gender or sexual orientation. It was a simple yet powerful illustration of human diversity and the importance of accepting people as they are.<\/p>\n
As I listened to the discussions, I began to understand that gender is far more complex than I had previously imagined. The speakers discussed gender identity, gender expression, social acceptance, and the importance of recognising the rights of gender and sexual minorities. I gradually realised that respecting someone does not mean expecting them to fit into society’s conventional expectations. Everyone deserves dignity, equality, and fairness, regardless of who they are or how they express themselves.<\/p>\n
Towards the end of the programme, the author, Sunil Babu Pant, shared his thoughts and expressed his happiness at the positive responses and reflections from the speakers. He described the book as a step towards building greater awareness, knowledge, and understanding of gender and human diversity in Nepal.<\/p>\n
I entered the hall with limited knowledge but left with a much broader perspective. The programme encouraged me to question beliefs and assumptions that I had never previously thought to examine. More importantly, it made me realise that nobody should ever have to prove or justify their identity to deserve respect and acceptance.<\/p>\n
For me, attending the launch of \u2018\u0932\u093f\u0919\u094d\u0917\u0926\u0947\u0916\u093f \u092e\u093e\u0928\u0935 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0915\u0943\u0924\u093f\u0938\u092e\u094d\u092e\u2019 was much more than attending a book launch. It was an opportunity to listen, learn, reflect, and recognise that human diversity deserves understanding and recognition, not judgment or discrimination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had the opportunity to attend the book launch of \u2018\u0932\u093f\u0919\u094d\u0917\u0926\u0947\u0916\u093f \u092e\u093e\u0928\u0935 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0915\u0943\u0924\u093f\u0938\u092e\u094d\u092e\u2019, authored by Sunil Babu Pant, at Lekhnath Hall, Kamaladi, Kathmandu. Before attending the programme, I had very little knowledge about the book or the GSM (Gender and Sexual Minority\/LGBTIQ+ community. I was curious about the event, but I had no idea that the discussions would make me rethink many of my assumptions about gender and identity.
\nAs the hall gradually filled with guests, media representatives, and members of the GSM community, the programme began with the formal launch …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":14559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1081,8,621,492,490,3,2065],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-issue","category-explanationawareness","category-human-rights","category-news","category-opinion","category-slider","category-society","category-top-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14560,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14556\/revisions\/14560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}