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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