Sunil Pant talks about his founding The Blue Diamond Society in Nepal, his experiences as the first openly gay member of parliament in an Asian country, and the struggles to enact pro-LGBT laws.

Sunil Babu Pant is a Belarus-educated computer engineer and the founder of The Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s first and only LGBT rights organisation.

Last year, he became the first openly gay politician to be elected in Nepal — around the same time when the landlocked nation of 30 million people abolished its monarchy and became a federal republic. Thanks to his work, Nepal became the first country in the world to recognize the third gender and the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. We sat down with him for a quick chat about his life and the situation in Nepal today.

Interviewer (I): Tell us a little something about you.

Sunil Pant (SP): My name is Sunil Pant and I’m 36 now. I work for the Blue Diamond Society and serve as a Member of Parliament in Nepal. All this keeps me very busy,and it’s more than a full time job. I grew up in the countryside in the Gorkha District and lived there for the first 16 years of my life before leaving for further studies. Today, I live in the capital Kathmandu together with my parents.

I: Belarus doesn’t come to mind as a top choice for most people as a place for further education. Why did you decide to go there and how did it change you? Were any other countries a source of inspiration in leading you to what you now do?

SP: Belarus was not the first choice but it was definitely easy to get admission — it was relatively cheap and easy to get visa for poor Nepalis who want/need to go abroad for further studies. So I really had no choice other than Belarus, but when I went there, I discovered that people there are very nice there despite of the political and economic situation.

Neither Belarus nor any country changed me dramatically but it was in Belarus where I confronted the cold hard reality of myself being gay but as no information was available back then I couldn’t do anything about it. I learned more about myself and the queer world in Tokyo, Japan in 1997, so you could say Japan is a source of wisdom for me and what I do today. Otherwise people from all walks and every part of the world I have met are my inspiration.

I: We were amazed to hear that Nepal became the first country in the world to officially recognize the third gender. What do you think Nepal can teach the world?

SP: Well, we know this didn’t drop from the sky — we have struggled so much for it over the last 8 years. But the third gender recognition is very satisfying. I am not sure what Nepal can teach to the world now but 2,500 years ago, Buddha taught a great wisdom for peace and a path that leads to Nirvana. Maybe this lesson is still valid and we need to teach ourselves as well.

I: You are the first gay member of Parliament in any Asian country. How do you feel about that?

SP: It feels generally good, I am sure there have been a number of closeted gay members of parliement in Asia in the past or even now. I hope there will be many more openly gay MP’s in Asia in the future as well.

I: You’re a member of the Nepal Communist Party (United), we hear? It’s hard for most of us elsewhere to imagine a communist party fighting for gay rights. Tell us something about your party and Nepalese politics that we don’t know yet?

SP: The Communist Party (United) is a small communist party and has been friendly to gay rights over the last 3 years. I was not a member of the party or any other political party to begin with, but during the election period the United Party came to ask me to put up my name as a candidate which I thought was very nice. Today in Nepal, the largest party, the Communist Party (Maoist) now also supports gay rights and the Nepali Congress Party too. Practically all existing parties in Nepal support gay rights, and nobody opposes. That’s the way it should be — whether you’re a communist or a democrat or whether you subscribe to any other -ism does not automatically for or anti gay rights.

I: Nobody opposes? That sounds both awesome and hard to believe! What changes have taken place since Nepal moved to protect gays and lesbians in Nepal?

SP: Many changes have taken place. Nepal has signed the oral statement tabled by France reaffirming LGBT rights at the United Nations. The Nepali government now supports LGBT programs for the first time in its budget, and district governments are also having their own support programs for gay rights. More LGBT people are open/out; private sectors are hiring LGBT people as staff and there is generally much more openness in society than before.

I: Now tell us a bit more about this organisation that you founded. Why did you name it the Blue Diamond Society? How many staffers do you have at the moment? What programmes do you run?

SP: I am still learning Buddhism and in Buddhism, compassionate and enlightened people are called Diamond Beings, and in eastern Europe — where I used to study — the colour blue represents LGBTI. Hence I decided to name the group Blue Diamond Society. I find many LGBT people kind, compassionate and enlightened. We have more than 50 staff full time mostly working on HIV/AIDS but BDS also helped the local LGBTs to get organised and now there are more than 16 LGBT organisations registered and more are in a process of formation. We work on Human Rights, Constitutional Campaign, Legal Support, HIV/AIDS intervention, skill building trainings and community events.

I: I understand your parents didn’t know you were gay when you founded this society? How did you eventually come out to them and how did they take it?

SP: I didn’t come out to them directly but one day they read my interview in the newspapers. In the beginning, they were a little upset but gradually they started being more supportive when they came to understand the difficult life I lead.

I: What obstacles have you faced over the last eight years, and how have things improved?

SP: Nepali society is a lot more tolerant today, but there was a time when the police used to be very brutal. There were many arrests and cases of abuse by the police on many of our staff and members. The years between 2003 and 2006 were very difficult years for us but things have since changed for the better and the police violence has gone down dramatically and they behave nicely.

I: I understand that Nepal has not only granted full equality to LGBTI members of society, it is now looking to pass a gay marriage bill. It almost looks like you have it all already! What will you be fighting for next?

SP: World Peace!