An Armed Police dog with vermillion on its forehead and marigold garland placed around its neck looks on during an event to mark the Hindu festival Tihar, at the Armed Police Dog Training School in Kathmandu on November 12, 2023. Dogs in Nepal were decked with marigold garlands and bright vermillion paint on November 12 to celebrate a day dedicated to them as part of a Hindu festival. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

A devotee takes a holy bath in River Saali in Sankhu during the Swasthani Brata Katha festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, January 24, 2016. During the month long festival, devotees recite one chapter of a Hindu tale daily from the 31-chapter sacred Swasthani Brata Katha book that is dedicated to God Madhavnarayan and Goddess Swasthani, alongside various other gods and goddess and the miraculous feats performed by them. The devotees also go on pilgrimages to various temples, perform religious rituals, take a holy bath in the rivers and fast for a month, especially among women who believe fasting helps in their family's well-being or in getting them a good husband. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Nepalese Hindu devotees offer oil lamps in the Bagmati River as they observe the festival of Bala Chaturdashi in the early morning hours at the Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, 28 November 2016. Seven kinds of seeds – paddy, barley, sesame, wheat, gram, maize and finger millet – are sown around the temple premises in the name of loved ones departed during the last three years, in the belief that the departed souls will receive salvation. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha)

A Nepalese devotee bows in front of a cow during the 'Gai Puja', also known as the Cow Worship Day, as part of the Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, 11 November 2015. The Tihar festival is the second most important event for Nepalese Hindus. During the celebrations people worship cows, considered the incarnation of Lord Laxmi, the god of wealth. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

Nepali members of the LGBT community take part in a Gay Pride parade in Kathmandu on August 8, 2017. Scores of gays, lesbians, transvestites and transsexuals from across the country took part in the rally to spread their campaign for sexual rights in the country. In 2013 Nepal introduced citizenships with a third gender option and began issuing passports reflecting the same in 2015. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Nepalese Hindu women pray to worship Lord Shiva during the first day of the Sarwan Brata festival, the month of fasting, at the premises of Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, 18 July 2016. Thousands of married and single Nepalese Hindu women will gather in temples for each Monday of the Sawan month (spanning from 16 July to 16 August) to pray for a long and prosperous life of their husbands or for a chance to find a good one. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

Hindu devotees perform rituals during the Bol Bom pilgrimage, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, August 8, 2016. During this pilgrimage, devotees walk miles barefooted before offering water collected from Bagmati river, at the Pashupatinath temple in Katmandu. Shravan Somwar or Monday of Hindu calendar month of Shravan is considered auspicious for offering prayers to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A storm whips through a tented area occupied by Nepalese earthquake survivors as a mother grabs her infant child and runs to find shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal 23 May 2015. Nepalese, who lost their homes in earthquake and fear aftershocks, have been living in temporary shelter in open ground which they had to flee because of the heavy rain and powerful wind. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)