An American lesbian couple from Denver, Courtney Mitchell and Sarah Welton, held a public wedding ceremony in Nepal, celebrating their union with a traditional Hindu rite.
June 20 2011 4:15 PM EST
November 08 2024 8:14 AM EST
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An American lesbian couple from Denver, Courtney Mitchell and Sarah Welton, held a public wedding ceremony in Nepal, celebrating their union with a traditional Hindu rite.
The two women, a lawyer and a college professor, were married Monday, in a temple 14 miles south of Kathmandu.
Michelle Garcia of Advocate.com reports:
Courtney Mitchell, 41, and Sarah Welton, 48, were cheered on by local gay rights supporters during the country's first public wedding of a lesbian couple, Nepalese gay activist Sunil Babu Pant told the Associated Press. A Hindu priest performed the ceremony, in which Mitchell put red vermilion powder on Welton's forehead, a practice similar to exchanging rings.
"It was my dream wedding come true. This is a fabulous ceremony," Welton said.
Mitchell and Welton's wedding will not be legally recognized, however, as laws are still being drafted to institute marriage equality in Nepal. Recently the country's highest court ruled that it is unconstitutional to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.