Blue Diamond Society
| Abbreviation | BDS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2001 |
| Type | Non-Profit Organization |
| Purpose | As a community based organization, Blue Diamond Society aims to educate and assist with the sexual health, human rights, and the well-being of gender and sexual minorities in Nepal. |
| Headquarters | Kathmandu |
| Location |
|
|
Founder/Director
|
Ichhya Malla |
| Website | http://bds.org.np |
The Blue Diamond Society(Nepali: नील हीरा समाज) is an LGBT rights organization in Nepal. It was founded in 2001 to advocate to change the existing laws against homosexuality and to advocate for the rights of Nepal's marginalized gay, transgender and other sexual minority communities. BDS also aims to educate the Nepalese on proper sexual health, advocate for queer minorities in local governments, encourage artful expression of LGBTQ+ youth, and document violence against Nepalese queers. Another contribution to Nepal's LGBTQ+ communities is to provide care, counseling, and services to victims of HIV/AIDS. Blue Diamond Society is currently led by Executive Director Manisha Dhakal, and was founded and led until 2013 by Sunil Babu Pant, the first gay legislator in Nepal's history and one of 29 experts at the meeting for The Yogyakarta Principles. One of the Blue Diamond Society's most recent accomplishment occurred when Sunil Babu Pant and fellow human rights activists filed a case with Nepal's Supreme Court in 2007 that led to a verdict by the Court ordering the government to repeal all laws that explicitly discriminate against members of the LGBT community. The law also ordered the government to legalize gay marriage.
Blue Diamond Society currently has over 35 offices throughout Nepal. The head is located in Dhumbarahi height, Kathmandu.
The society's visions are:
In February 2016, with the support of the UNDP and other organizations, the Blue Diamond Society hosted a first national meeting on intersex issues.
Blue Diamond Society aims to educate and assist with the sexual health, human rights, and well-being of gender and sexual minorities in Nepal. Here are their "numbers."
- More than 90,000 LGBT people have benefited from education and BDS's HIV prevention services.
- About 700 MSM (men who have sex with men) and LGBT persons are currently living with HIV/AIDS with the support and treatment of BDS.
- More than 50% of the Constituent Assembly in Nepal have been educated or "sensitized" to LGBT issues in Nepal.
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