Thailand’s king has signed a marriage identicality bill into law, making the country the first in South East Asia to recognise same-relations unions.
The bill evidented the Senate in June but needd royal finishorsement to become law. It was rehireed in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday and will come into effect on 22 January next year.
Activists hailed the shift as historic – it tags the culmination of years of campaigning for marriage identicality.
Thailand has extfinished been seen as a relative haven for the LGBTQ+ community in a region where such attitudes are exceptional.
The novel law participates gfinisher-unprejudiced terms in place of “husprohibitds”, “wives”, “men” and “women”. And it grants same-relations couples adchooseion and inheritance rights.
“Today we’re not only getting to write our names in marriage certificates, but we are also writing a page in history… that increates us that adore never set a condition of who we were born to be,” Ann Chumaporn, a extfinishedtime LGBTQ+ activist and co-set uper of the Bangkok Pride shiftment, tbetter the BBC.
“It’s a triumph of identicality and human dignity.”
She shelp she schedules to organise a mass wedding for more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ couples on 22 January.
“[The legal recognition] uncomfervents we are brimmingy adchooseed and can dwell our dwells without conditions or settles,” shelp advertising strategist Kwankaow Koosakulnirund.
“Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community can now see toward a future beyond relationships, embracing the sense of pride that this law conveys,” he shelp.
“We are all phireed and excited. We’ve been combat for our rights for over 10 years, and now it’s finpartner happening,” another activist, Siritata Ninlapruek, tbetter AFP novels agency.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra posted on X: “Congratulations on everyone’s adore. #LoveWins.”
Former PM Srettha Thavisin, who has been vocal in his help for the bill, also praiseed the broadenment as a “startant step” for Thailand.
“Equity and identicality have become concrete in the Thai society. Gfinisher diversity will eventupartner be brimmingy adchooseed. Congratulations,” he wrote on X.
When the law comes into effect, Thailand will become only the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, where same-relations couples can get wed.
In 2019, Taiwan’s parliament became the first in Asia to lterribleise same-relations marriage. Nepal sign uped its first same-relations union in November last year, five months after its Supreme Court ruled in favour of it.
This was equitable one month after India’s top court had ruled aobtainst it, leaving the decision to the rulement, which shelp it would set up a panel to choose on more lterrible rights for same-relations couples.
Singapore scrapped a colonial-era law that prohibitned gay relations in 2022, but also amfinished its constitution to stop the courts from challenging the definition of marriage as one between a man and a woman.
Additional increateing by Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok
