--- description: A third category is to be added "for those people who do not want to be identified as male or female," the country's passport dept. says. title: Nepal Allows Third Gender Passports image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf061f84b1b5ac8b8/698778c335ba6f7320c065f6/nepal-transgender.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nepal](/tag/nepal/) ## Nepal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nepalese Passports Are Going to Feature a Third Gender Option by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2015 3:51 AM CUT  Nepalese transgendered performers pose for photographs backstage in Kathmandu on November 2, 2013. Nepalese transgendered performers pose for photographs backstage in Kathmandu on November 2, 2013.Prakash Mathema — AFP/Getty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2015 3:51 AM CUT Nepal announced plans this week to issue passports that will allow citizens of the Himalayan nation to identify as a member of a third gender on their travel documents if they wish. “We have changed the passport regulations and will add a third category of gender for those people who do not want to be identified as male or female,” Lok Bahadur Thapa, chief of the government’s passport department, [told](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/07/us-nepal-lgbt-passports-idUSKBN0KG0QT20150107 "undefined") Reuters. The decision comes after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling in the country ordered authorities to amend legislation to include a third gender. South Asia nations appear to be ahead of the curve regarding the right to identify as third gender on official documents. Court decisions in [Pakistan](http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/06/30/third-gender-a-short-history/ "undefined") in 2009 and [India](http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/04/india-s-supreme-court-recognises-third-gender "undefined") in 2014 both cleared the way for people who identify as being of indeterminate gender to do so formally. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/07/us-nepal-lgbt-passports-idUSKBN0KG0QT20150107 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3658994/nepal-transgender-passports-south-asia-lgbt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3658994/nepal-transgender-passports-south-asia-lgbt/"},"headline":"Nepalese Passports Are Going to Feature a Third Gender Option","datePublished":"2015-01-08T03:51:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:23:24.466Z","description":"The long-awaited move follows a Supreme Court ruling in 2007 recognizing a third gender","url":"https://time.com/3658994/nepal-transgender-passports-south-asia-lgbt/","keywords":["Nepal","Pakistan","India","LGBT","Transgender","South Asia","Reuters"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf061f84b1b5ac8b8/698778c335ba6f7320c065f6/nepal-transgender.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf061f84b1b5ac8b8/698778c335ba6f7320c065f6/nepal-transgender.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NEPAL-POLITICS-ELECTION-HOMOSEXUALITY","caption":"NEPAL-POLITICS-ELECTION-HOMOSEXUALITY","creditText":"Prakash Mathema — AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nepal/","name":"Nepal"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3658994/nepal-transgender-passports-south-asia-lgbt/","name":"Nepalese Passports Are Going to Feature a Third Gender Option"}}]}] ```