Last edited: January 08, 2005


Nepal to Launch First Gay Magazine

Gay.com U.K., January 7, 2005

By Ben Townley

SUMMARY: Nepal is to launch its first gay weekly magazine, Blue Diamond Weekly, despite its leading gay rights group being threatened with closure.

Nepal is to launch its first gay weekly magazine, despite its leading gay rights group being threatened with closure.

Blue Diamond Weekly will be available in English and Nepalese across the country and will be distributed by the Blue Diamond Society.

The group’s leader, Sunil Panta, said that the magazine would be the best way to “reach out” to local people.

Last year, the group complained that its members were subjected to arrests and beatings and claimed that the service it was trying to offer gay people across the country—access to information and education about sexual health and HIV—was in jeopardy.

Additionally, a lawyer filed a petition last year to close the group, claiming its work was promoting sexual diversity and was destructive to the country.

The case is currently being heard in the country’s courts.

Panta says the magazine will be vital in not only giving a voice to gay people, but also offering sometimes-life-saving information.

“It is not going to be explicit or controversial,” he told local news agencies recently. “The issues are those that have been marginalized and need to be focused on, like sexuality, minorities, HIV/AIDS and people living with AIDS, rights of all people, stigma and discrimination.”

The first issue is set to be released later this month.


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