Asias First Gay Sports Festival in Nepal Slug: Nepal gay sports Reporter: Rajan Parajuli Date: 18th

October 2012 INTRO This week Nepal is hosting the first South Asian Gay Sports Festival. 250 athletes are taking part in the event. For many of them its about more than just playing sports. Rajan Parajuli reports. TEXT SFX 1_MUSIC WHILE ATHLETES ARE MARCHING Athletes carrying the Nepalese national flag and other colorful gay pride flags fill Nepals only international sports stadium. SFX SPEECH_US AMBASSADOR 28-year old athlete Prem GC smiles as he listens to the opening speech by the US ambassador to Nepal. PREM, clip 1(Male, Nepali): "I always wanted to participate in athletics. But no one allowed me to join sports because my voice is like of a woman and I love to wear woman dresses. Now for the first time I am playing in a government stadium. It's a matter of great pride for me." Prey comes from a poor family in a remote district of Nepal. He worked as a prostitute. PREM, Clip 2 (Male, Nepali): "I used to regret why I was born like this, its not easy. I didnt know whether Im a man or a woman. What can I expect from the society if the government discriminates us? Police takes us into the custody, beats us. Last year police beat my friend so hard that he died. And still the culprit is not punished. Once I was raped by 12 polices during the insurgency and I couldn't stand for 6 to 7 days." Legally, Nepal is a progressive country in terms of gay rights. Law making same-sex marriage has been drafted and the transgender people are recognized by the government as a third sex on official identity cards. But cultural stigma and discrimination remains.

SFX_PLAYING FOOTBALL Sunil Babu Pant is watching the final football match of the tournament. He was the first public figure to come out and establish the gay rights organization Blue Diamond Society 12 years ago. Its this NGO that organized the festival with the support of foreign embassies in Nepal. SUNIL, clip 1 (Male, English):"A lot of people didnt realize before that this place can be ours as well. So it's claiming space. This would be more of showing that we are very much part of the Society and equal citizen that we exist. We have all the rights to express ourselves. And the right to expression should be without fear, without discrimination. The medium of sport is something really popular in new generation. We should not leave this platform. It's really nice you know and we think in general society has a myth that lesbians, gays, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people are physically mentally weak. I think that myths are demystified with this successful event. Q. They just did a goal. What does that mean to you? We have called it Festival because we didn't know how competitors would be. But looking at those matches, they are so serious. I see a bridging gap. I can see now third gender and others have made friendship, going together whether it's early in the morning or learning each other and going after that for tea or coffee. So every goal is step forward. Every goal is a win for the community to be established ourselves and to be in the mainstream. SFX from the sports festival Alongside football there were also events in volleyball, athletics and basketball. Madhavi Sharma is a university student. She is here at the sports festival out of curiosity. MADHAVI, Clip 1(Female, English): "Before I had only heard about them. I saw them only few of them, you know one or two. Today I see a lot more than that. Before I used to think like what! Are they really gay? What kind of thoughts they might have? What kind of desire? Today after seeing them, I got clearer perspective. I thought like things that we neglect are so important for them. They should not be discriminated in anything. So they should be given priority I think. SFX_ MARATHON RUN Transgender athlete Prem GC has just won gold in the 1500-meter race. He also won the gold medal in the 800 meter event and the marathon.

His knees are bleeding and there are scratches over her legs... but he is overjoyed with his success. PREM, Clip 3(Male, Nepali):"I will not stop practicing. I am very happy. I want to participate in a national game now. My coach has told me that I can do that. That's why I have even started participating in other friendly marathons where all people are included. I will fulfill my sporting dreams. SFX_BAIKUNTHA ENCOURAGING PLAYERS His coach is Baikuntha Manandhar, a three times marathon gold medallist and a record holder at the South Asian Championships. Hes also a senior coach at the national sports council. Baikuntha says sports must not be a discriminatory game. BAIKUNTHA, Clip 1(Male, Nepali):"I coached them for almost two months. When they first came here for practice, everyone laughed at them. But things changed after a while. After the coaching, they performed like sportsmen do in the same spirit, with the same enthusiasm and passion. Sport has no caste, no religion. It's not only made for one sex. I think the government should make provisions for the third sex community to take part in national competitions. During the event, the chief of Nepal Sports Council Yubraj Lama announced that the Government will soon include sexual minorities in national games. A moment worth celebrating. SFX_CHEERING AND DANCING This is Rajan Parajuli for Asia Calling in Kathmandu.