Kathmandu, June 14 -- A few years ago, seeing Nepal's first transgender woman to summit Everest and a cast member from a Cannes-celebrated film at the same public event might have been enough to make headlines.

At this year's Pride Parade in Kathmandu, they blended into the crowd.

Neelam Paudel, the first transgender woman to climb Mount Everest, moved through the gathering alongside activists, students and allies. Nearby was Pushpa Thing Lama, a cast member of 'Elephants in the Fog', the Nepali film that recently received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes. Around them were hundreds of others carrying rainbow flags, taking photographs, dancing to music and chatting with friends.

What stood out was not who was there. It was how ...