Nepal’s transgender community has sent blessings to Prince William and Kate Middleton ahead of their wedding the day after tomorrow and offered to send someone to the ceremony.
Transgender people in Nepal, mostly men living as women who are known as “hijras” or eunuchs, are considered au-spicious at weddings in South Asia, where they are often paid to sing, dance and give blessings to the couple.
“Following this tradition, we are offering blessings to Prince William and Kate Middleton for their happy conjugal life,” said Pradeep Khadka, program officer of the gay rights group Blue Diamond Society.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
The group has sent a letter to the British embassy in Kathmandu proposing to send someone for the April 29 extravaganza that will be one of the biggest royal occasions in 30 years.
“The UK government has been very supportive of our cause. And the royal family is reported to have expressed its support for gay rights,” Khadka said.
Nepal, which has an openly gay parliamentarian, has made large strides on gender and gay issues in recent years to guarantee the rights of transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual people.
In January, the country announced that the national census, which begins in May, will include a new category for transgender people.
Despite being accepted as part of weddings and other ceremonies, transgender people and eunuchs live on the extreme fringes of South Asian society.
With the jobs market closed to them because of discrimination, many resort to prostitution and begging.
(AFP)
尼泊爾變性人團體已在威廉王子與凱特‧密道頓後天的大婚前，獻上她們的祝福，也會派代表參加婚禮。
尼泊爾變性人以男變女居多，這群被稱為「海吉拉斯」或是閹人的變性人，在南亞國家被視為婚禮上的吉祥人物，她們經常在婚宴為新人獻唱、跳舞，與祈福，同時賺取酬勞。
同志民權團體「藍鑽石會」活動計劃官員普拉迪普‧卡德卡說，「依循這個傳統，我們正為威廉王子與凱特‧密道頓獻上祝福，祝他們過著快樂的婚姻生活。」
這個團體已寄了一封信給在加德滿都的英國大使館，提議將派人參加四月二十九日的盛典，這也是皇室三十年來最盛大的場合之一。
卡德卡說，「英國政府一向非常支持我們的理念。並且據報導，皇室已表明其對同志人權的支持。」
擁有公開同志議員的尼泊爾，近年來已在性別與同志議題上頗有進展，保障變性人、男同志、女同志，與雙性戀族群的權利。
這個國家一月公佈其五月的人口普查，將會增加一個變性人的新類別。
雖然變性人與閹人在婚禮上是被接受的，但他們在南亞社會過著極其邊緣人的生活。
由於受到職場歧視而被拒於門外，許多變性人只好訴諸娼妓與乞討維生。
（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
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