CHITWAN, April 28: She looks like a boy and thinks herself as one. Though her parents named her Bimala on birth, she has changed it to Suman now. The 17-year-old Chepang, who has been in a civil union with a girl for three years, now wants to marry her for the seal of approval from society which is refusing to oblige.
Suman wants to spend the rest of her life with Bishnumaya, also a Chepang from her village Padampur in Chitwan, but Bishnu´s parents are putting immense pressure on her for separation. They even thrashed Bishnu on April 23 and the couple has since fled to Narayangarh seeking refuge at the Blue Diamond Society.
"I want to marry the person I love but her parents are trying to separate us," rues Suman. Born as the only daughter after four brothers, she grew up as a tomboy. "I used to play football and was always ready for gang fights like boys," Suman reminisces.
She wore skirt only while going to school and joined Maoists at age 12. She was assigned the job of supplying fruits and medicines to the injured Maoist combatants recovering at Shaktikhor, Jutpani. Her parents did not approve of that and sent her to Kathmandu for work.
"When I returned home I met Bishnu and did not want to go to Kathmandu again," Suman says. She used to work in Bharatpur during the day and sleep at Bishnu´s home at night which continued unabated for about a year with no resistance.
Suman was given training by a non-governmental organization for being insurgency-affected child and she started a grocery store at her own home. Bishnu´s family started to oppose after she joined Suman and started to stay at Suman´s house. However, Suman´s family has not opposed to their living together.
In the meantime, Suman came in contact with other homosexuals who started Blue Diamond Society [BDS] in Narayangarh and got a massive boost since she met the organization six months ago. She came to BDS office with Bishnu on April 12 but Bishnu´s mother showed up there two days later.
"If this is what you want, I have no complaint but come with me and stay with us in the village, she told us, and we followed with hope and joy but I was beaten up once I reached there," Bishnu reveals. "I am in love and cannot leave her at any cost," Bishnu adds.
Suman wants to marry with much fanfare and is encouraged by the recent openness in Nepal regarding the issue of homosexuality that culminated with the appointment of Blue Diamond Society President Sunil Babu Panta in the Constituent Assembly. But social acceptance for homosexuality is still a long way.
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