Nepal renames ministry to include gender and sexual minorities: What is the way forward?

For nearly two decades, Nepal’s LGBTQIA+ community has carried a question across government offices, ministries, courtrooms, policy rooms, and advocacy spaces: who is responsible for addressing concerns of our community?

On 13 May 2026, Nepal’s newly formed government offered an answer. The Government of Nepal renamed the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens to the ‘Ministry of Women, Children, Gender, Sexual Minorities and Social Security’. According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), a worldwide federation of more than 1,800 organisations, this makes Nepal the first country in South Asia to explicitly include gender and sexual minorities (GSM) into a federal ministry’s name and mandate. Under the new mandate, the ministry is responsible for administering national protective laws, social security schemes, protecting marginalised groups, and assuring the socio-political rights of gender and sexual minorities across the country. This marks a significant moment after two decades of advocacy by Nepal’s LGBTQIA+ movement.