Queer Minds

She says, 'From the outside, I look normal, but the wounds inside my body are very deep.'

He left eastern Nepal soon after his birth and came to Kathmandu as a teenager. Born as the youngest son of the family, from the age of 9-10, he started enjoying Tika-Ghazal, Laali, Powder, which was not acceptable to his family and society. After finally entering Kathmandu, she became known as Ariana, who looked completely feminine. "Not only my life but every moment my body shape, movement and posture have changed. However, the thinking and behavior of this society did not change with time. The main thing is that along with the visible changes in my body, the wall-shaped mountain of pain in the brain is also melting.'

Her heart is always sour, remembering the behavior of people, 'Every human being born in the world has happiness, but no one can assess the pain, irritation, leprosy and sorrow of us sexual and gender minorities.' is lit The smile on her lips with every word during the dialogue proves her unwavering self-confidence.

Basically, the problem of 'identity crisis' is widespread among the people of this community. Apart from that, there are long stories of family and social humiliation, abuse and discrimination by the state on various issues, due to which they say that they are victims of mental illness.

Loyla (name changed), who moved to the capital from Bhairahawa to pursue a career, also says that she was left without a home and relatives because her family rejected her. She says, 'Even though I was born as a daughter, my inner soul never accepted it. Boredom during menses, irritability and irritability as breasts grow, irritability, preference for men's clothing. Feeling that I am a man. After this, there was a problem at home. No one understood my feelings. And, left the house and walked. Now she has removed the breast and uterus through surgery. Everyone who sees him says that he is a man. However, the already made citizenship has made it very difficult for him. The said citizenship has a photo of a girl with two-sided hair. She said that after looking at her citizenship, she would not be able to meet her current status, so there would be problems everywhere, including airports, government offices, and organizations where she would go for a job. Such things are very mind-blowing. The bottom line is that citizenship and same-sex marriage are a big issue right now. Happiness is disappearing when you don't want it.''He says, 'Because of this, the problem of getting a job, getting fired from a job, having to listen to bad words, etc. doesn't stop the mind from birth to the age of 30.' He seems unyielding and indomitable as he stumbles into a woman and lives a man's life. He thinks, the lotus blooms in the mud, what is life without struggle? "Who likes khalo?" he said with a faint smile.

It's been 5 years since Jem and Zayed (name changed) started living together. They are both male. They say that they are secretly hiding after the pressure of marriage started increasing on both of them from the family and they became inseparable. "It's not easy, what will the family and society say if they find out, the other thing is that we don't have children, we don't even have a marriage registration," both expressed their pain in one voice. It would be easy!' They argue that if the state provides certain rights to them as well, life will not be so confusing and will flow at its own pace. They also said that such things cause very deep mental pain.

Constitution of Nepal 2072 has provided constitutional rights to sexual and gender minorities. Article 12 of the Constitution provides for citizenship based on gender identity, while Article 18 provides for non-discrimination and yet this community claims that they are being subjected to extreme discrimination. Pinki Gurung, rights activist and president of Neelheera Samaj, says, "As many rights as are said to be given to this community, it is limited only on paper and it is difficult to implement it in practice. Basically there are countless mental health issues within the community. Due to lack of social and family acceptance, financial crisis and unstable relationship with partner, many people are suffering from mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, ansomnia.' Pinky said. There are many reasons behind this. Many of the gender and sexual minorities do not know about mental health, even though they suffer chronically from this problem. So much so that there is a lack of information and knowledge even about the treatment. Gurung, who is counseling thousands of people, says, 'Because of the fear of family and friends, they are not able to speak openly about their pain and problems, so they kill themselves without counseling and treatment.' is She says, "Government and the private sector should increase mental health services everywhere so that everyone can get the services easily." Research should be done among the community to find out the facts of the health status of this community.' While looking for a way to forget the mind, he also has the data that some people of this community have fallen into the trap of drug suppliers.

A study conducted a few years ago by an organization called 'Pahichan' showed that 4 times more 'self-harm' and 'suicidal thoughts' occur in the youth of the gender and sexual minority community, while 38 to 65 percent of transgender people have experienced suicide attempts. The data also mentions that 20 to 30 percent of such people are addicted to some form of addiction and 25 percent drink alcohol. In the 1950s and 1960s, although 'homosexuality' and 'biosexuality' were considered mental illnesses, the research also mentions that this thinking has changed a lot in recent times. However, research conducted by UN Women under the United Nations in 2023 has shown that there are positive legal initiatives in favor of gender and sexual minority communities in Nepal. From the issue of equal participation in the state structure to same-sex marriage, it is mentioned in the research that the state is positive, although it is clearly mentioned that there is discomfort in the implementation due to our social, cultural thinking and tradition.

According to 'psychotherapist' Bipin Thapa, people from this community consume 25 percent more alcohol than the general population worldwide. In addition, depression, anxiety, disorder and social, cultural, psychological differences are seen as major problems in the people of this community. Thapa, who has counseled a large number of people from the community, says, “Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for people aged 10 to 24 years in the community. Due to the fear of having to face stigma, discrimination and prejudice based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and having to live a double character life as well as the thought of being shunned by society and family, it is seen that day and night they have to live an unnatural life of what they are not. Due to this kind of psychological problem, it is seen that one has to face social prejudice against the conditions of mental well-being, one has to be sad all the time and one has to be a victim of despair.'

Another risk to the mental health of people in this community is 'minority stress', according to Bipin. Mental health challenges include discrimination and domestic violence, school teasing, violations of civil and human rights, abuse, harassment, etc., which lead to low self-esteem and lack of confidence, anxiety disorders like panic attacks, Thapa says.

Bhumika Shrestha, a gender and sexual minority rights activist, says that this community has to experience violence at some point in their lives, the figure of which is 81 percent. Among them, 71 percent of the gender and sexual minorities are victims of emotional violence. She says, "Many people in our community have been victims of mental violence, i.e. discrimination and discrimination on the basis of mental health, many friends have chosen the path of suicide due to not getting counseling at the right time, and they are also in a state of confusion because they do not know their gender identity and sexuality." The main reason for this is discrimination by households, society and the state. Lack of access to health care and lack of proper policies and laws is a big problem for our community. Sexual and reproductive health and sexual health program budgets do not address sexual and gender minority communities. Now it is urgent.

Nepal's 2021 census is estimated to have identified approximately 2,928 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or other diverse sexual or gender identity persons in the Nepali community.

Dr. Narendra Singh Thagunna, a professor in the Faculty of Psychology at the Padmakanya Campus, says, 'Depression is a common and serious medical condition among all, but the rate of depression is 1.5 to 2.5 times higher in LGBTQ than heterosexuals', who experience physical and emotional problems. He says that depression has increased from 30 to 60 percent in people of this community.

A study was conducted in Nepal to assess the prevalence of depression among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in Pokhara. Thagunna also said that this study showed that 27.8 percent of the respondents had depression. Participants in the study reported substantial mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Exacerbating factors were found to include family rejection, fragmentation, intimidation, stigma, discrimination and fear of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Participants suggested the availability of a smartphone app with features such as mental health screening tools, digital counseling, helpline numbers, directories of community-friendly providers, mental health resources, and discussion forums for peer support as possible solutions. Participants emphasized privacy and its importance in ensuring that mobile apps are secure and accessible.

Sociologist and Head of Padmakanya Campus Social Work Department Sukrita Rai says, 'Sexuality is a central component of human life, but in Nepali society sexuality and sexual orientation are shrouded in silence. This is why one in every 5 young people in this community suffers from mental health problems and suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 10 and 24.'

According to him, the risks are significantly higher for children who identify as a different gender, and for adolescents who are gender and sexual minorities. Gender and sexual minority adolescents are 6 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms than the general population. They are treated as negatively undesirable and abnormally 'stereotyped', leading to harassment, which starts at home and at school, according to her long research experience. She also argued that among sexual and gender minorities, children are more vulnerable than adults and that children are in a less powerful position due to power dynamics. He argues that he has found in his research that they are less likely to fight back against abusers and that they are often the targets of sexual abuse and verbal abuse.

In gender and sexual minority children and adolescents, feelings of guilt, shame, public shame, threats, oppression and fear cause mental problems such as despair, anger, helpless anxiety, stress, suicidal thoughts and attempts, Sukrita said. The fact that they themselves are socially excluded due to discrimination and abandonment is not normal. This shows - where is our society going? And, which way are the manpower to build the country?

About two months ago, in an interactive workshop organized by the Dhimal Foundation with the support of the German Embassy in Nepal, the issues of mental health of gender and sexual minorities were widely discussed. Worldwide look at a family, society, and the effects of the household, and the effects of its effective. Although the people from sexual and sexual communities are not the only information to disturb the positive message, but also the videos were presented in their career and nbsp; There was also a number of doctors, advocates, activists, artists, activists, artist, activists, artist, artist, artist, artist, artist, artist and models in their workplace. Those characters were involved in the interaction. & Nbsp;