Crossing sexual boundaries in Nepal

BBC NEWS | South Asia: "'When I was about 13, it came from my heart and soul, the feeling that I was different from others,' says Manisha, who has the body of a man but wants to be a woman - and likes to be described as a woman. Manisha, now 24, is what is known in Kathmandu as a 'meti' or a transgender person.

Manisha began meeting similar people in the parks of the Nepalese capital. It changed even more in 2001 with the founding of the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal's only organisation for sexual minorities. The BDS has just launched a weekly newspaper, with editions in English and Nepali.

The Blue Diamond Weekly will give a platform to many marginalised groups in Nepal, but seems likely to be dominated by issues affecting gay and bisexual Nepalese and the significant number who call themselves "meti" and dress up in women's clothes. An autobiographical article by Manisha filled page three of the first edition.

Manisha now works full-time for BDS, which among other things promotes Aids awareness and condom usage among vulnerable groups. BDS's founder and director, 32-year-old Sunil Pant, explored his own sexuality while studying in Belarus.

In Kathmandu he was surprised at the number of "MSMs" - men who have sex with men. Some identified as homosexual but many others did not, for instance those choosing metis as partners. Nepalese attitudes to sexual diversity are complex. Sunil says most Nepalese - especially Buddhists - are tolerant in this regard. The Gurung people of western Nepal have a tradition of men called maarunis, who dance in female clothes. The tradition, he says, is also popular in the Royal Nepalese Army.

Prakash, a bisexual who works with BDS, agrees that attitudes to homosexuality are "not encouraging". He was happy to have an arranged marriage last year but regrets he cannot tell his wife all about his sexuality. With marriage a social obligation, many metis and homosexuals do wed, but others - with great difficulty - tell their families they cannot. "