Kathmandu, June 13 -- On the last Saturday of June last year, Maitighar Mandala was filled with cheerful faces, tearful eyes, and welcoming positive energy. Rainbow flags were being waved proudly and people were dancing on the streets. The people gathered were celebrating the country's first-ever Pride Parade, and being able to celebrate the diversity of the country's queer population brought smiles, as well as tears, on the faces of many attendees.

Among the hundreds at the parade was Sanzivani, who was overwhelmed with happiness to see things unfolding at the parade, she says. "It was my first Pride Parade. I was so overwhelmed with happiness seeing people coming together and celebrating each other that I couldn't hold back my tears," ...