Nepal had the first casinos in South Asia
and was probably the first in the region to approve of same sex
marriages. Now the country has its first store dedicated to sex aids
ranging from condoms to toys and does brisk business. 'When I first
started putting up posters and banners to let people know I was
starting a sex aid store, they were shocked and furious,' says Yubaraj
Neupane, the 32-year-old former health worker who has opened the sex
aid store in the heart of the capital. 'The shopkeepers in the area even abused
me and accused me of trying to bring shame on the neighbourhood. But
today people are saying it was a much-needed thing.' From Sunday, he
plans to start a campaign blitzkrieg targeting the busiest streets in
Kathmandu. Neupane's
venture, 'The Condom Shop', is located close to Dharahara, the tallest
tower in Kathmandu's Sundhara area that was built by a queen in memory
of her mentor. Tucked away among rows of clothes shops is the innovative
store that stocks condoms from India, Malaysia, Japan, Germany and
Singapore and other sex aids as well as tiny machines said to enhance
capability and pleasure. The tiny store does brisk trade, with
about 10 percent of the customers being women and another 20 percent
being commercial sex workers. 'I find it easier
to buy condoms at the Condom Shop than at the drug stores,' says Saroj
Bhattarai, a 38-year-old businessman who had come with a friend to buy
condoms.
'At the drug stores, there are often women serving behind the counters
and it is sort of embarrassing having to ask them. Here, there's no
need to hem and haw because the seller knows what you have come for.' Neupane's years in
the health sector also makes him adept at helping customers, especially
first timers. 'A drug store
will simply sell you the brand you ask for without telling you how to
use it or whether it's suitable for you. Different people have
different needs and should be advised on what sort of condom or sex aid
to use.' A
48-year-old, who is a regular customer and identifies himself only as
Ram, buys aids worth over Nepali Rs.1,400 after discount, a large
amount in Nepal. When Neupane advises him to buy a lubricant, he
doesn't baulk at the price - nearly NRs.800 - but pauses to tear off
the label on the tiny pink bottle. 'If this falls into other family members'
hands, there will be awkward questions,' he mumbles. Neupane says the
feeling of awkwardness about something that is essential to human nature
is due to it not being easily accessible. 'If you see, for
instance, female condoms every day, they will no longer be a strange
object but a familiar thing,' he says.'There should be no social stigma about
using sex aids,' he says. 'After I opened the store, a private
television channel held an interaction with me, doctors and members of
the public and the conclusion was that they help bring down the
incidence of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and rape and
molestation.'
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