Nepal Army expels lesbian soldier from job

Nepal Army has court martialled a female soldier on grounds of Lesbianism after withdrawing the jail term imposed upon her following protests by gay rights group.

Bhakti Shah, a junior staff has been expelled by the army for having sexual relationship with another female in the Bhaktapur Army Training ... sources at the Army Headquarters said.

Action was initiated against her last year after she was discovered to be a lesbian. Condemning the act as immoral, the Army Court decided to slap 60 days imprisonment and expulsion from the job but had to withdraw the jail term after protests by gay rights group. However, she has already spent 60 days in Army custody during investigation.

Sunil Babu Panta, a gay activist and the president of Blue Diamond Society, which is an organisation dedicated to the rights of sexual minorities, has termed the punishment as undemocratic and ridiculous.

The military court's verdict is a breach of the Supreme Court verdict that recognizes the existence of the third sex, Panta said.

The Supreme Court in a landmark verdict six months back had decided to provide equal rights to the third sex. As per the new act the gays can have citizenship certificate and are entitled to equal treatment by the state.

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