Intersex Dalit Woman Receives Citizenship With Changed Name

Parbat : An intersex woman from the Dalit community in Jaljala Rural Municipality-7, Parbat, has obtained a citizenship certificate under her changed name following a legal and administrative process.

The District Administration Office had earlier refused her request to correct her name. However, based on a letter from the Department of National ID and Civil Registration, the rural municipality recommended that her name be amended on the citizenship certificate.

The District Administration Office, Parbat, subsequently issued citizenship to Dhan Bahadur Darji under the changed name, based on the recommendation from the local government.

The administration said the citizenship was issued after receiving the application along with a birth registration recommendation, a Supreme Court order and other required documents.

Chief District Officer Laxmi Prasad Paudel said the citizenship was issued in accordance with the recommendation and the Supreme Court order. “This was only a request to change the name, not the gender,” he said.

Darji had sought citizenship under the name Maya Darji, but the certificate was ultimately issued under the name Dhana Darji.

Dilu Buduja (Badri Pun), founder of Inclusive Forum Nepal and the first person in Nepal to obtain citizenship identifying as a third gender, described the decision as a victory in a long legal struggle. He said it also sends the message that surgery is not a prerequisite for correcting a person’s name on citizenship documents.

Buduja said the decision was not only a victory for Dhana Darji but also for the broader gender and sexual minority community across Nepal.