Hundreds of couples have been married in Bangkok as Thailand became the first country in southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.
An amendment to Thailand’s Criminal and Civil Code means that same-sex couples can now legally wed in the country and benefit from the same rights as any other couple, including financial, medical, adoption and inheritance rights.
Thailand is the third country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, behind Taiwan and Nepal. LGBT+ groups hope to achieve 1,448 wedding registrations on day one, a symbolic number that refers to the section of the Thai civil code where a key amendment changed the words husband and wife to “spouse”.
The organisers, along with related agencies, plan to compile figures from ceremonies nationwide and submit a request to Guinness World Records to recognise Thailand as the holder of the record for the world’s highest number of same-sex marriages to be registered in a single day.
“One-four-four-eight symbolises the fight for marriage rights for all genders. It represents the dream and hope of building an inclusive society that accepts and celebrates love in all its forms,” LGBT+ group Bangkok Pride said.
At a mass wedding ceremony organised by the group at the upmarket Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok, rainbow flags, flowers, love hearts and smiles are all around.
Hundreds of same-sex couples have registered to get married, including a police officer, and they proudly show their marriage certificates to those in attendance.
Nina Chetniphat Chuadkhunthod, a transgender woman, says she is happy to have been able to marry her partner of more than two decades.
“I feel so happy and good. We’ve been together for 22 years. [I’ve wanted to get married] for a long time, but Thailand did not allow marriage for the LGBT community for such a long time. But now I feel so good and so happy,” she tells The Independent.
Ning and Bank also got married at the Siam Paragon wedding event, wearing matching green suits. They have waited for this day for three decades.
“We are 49 years old and 48 years old, and we’ve been together for 30 years,” they say.
Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, a human rights specialist at Fortify Rights who has been campaigning for the marriage equality law, says the number of people getting married on Thursday shows the scale of the LGBT+ community in Thailand.
“The register is already full – they closed the registration because of the number of couples coming to get marriage certificates at the event. It signifies that we have a large community, a number of LBTQI couples waiting for this day, waiting for their marriage to become a reality,” Mookdapa says.
Same-sex marriages were also taking place throughout the Thai capital, including at local district offices.
Thanadech Jandee married his partner at Bangkok’s Bang Kapi District Office.
“Today I woke up early to go register early in the morning. I was a bit excited because we will be one. It’s to fulfil our couple’s life like a normal family. Not strangers. We got married at 8.20am,” he says.
Thanadech, 35, is a transgender male. He lives with his new wife, and her son from a previous relationship, in Bangkok. They longed to get married and were ecstatic about finally being able to tie the knot. “I have been waiting for four years,” he adds.
Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, currently in Davos attending the World Economic Forum, posted a message on Facebook celebrating the news of the law.
“This victory is a success due to the cooperation of everyone, especially the LGBTQIA+ sector, which is the main core of bringing the Equal Marriage Law into force today,” the post read.
Thailand has one of the most open LGBT+ communities in Asia. The country has long allowed celebrations to take place, such as the Pride parade and international transgender beauty pageants, and is a global leader in gender reassignment surgery. Thailand also passed its Gender Equality Act a decade ago in 2015, aiming to protect all individuals from gender-based discrimination.
But LGBT+ activists have argued that some of Thailand’s laws have not represented equality within the community, until now.
“Thailand is now progressing more into becoming an open place, an inclusive place for LGBT+ couples, for those who are in relationships and want to register their marriage,” Mookdapa says.
Much of Thailand’s population is Buddhist, with conservative values, meaning that members of the LGBT+ community have faced discrimination in everyday life. Regulations remain a challenge for some couples, such as those that govern what constitutes a legally recognised family.
The definition of a family – a father being a man and a mother a woman – remain in place within the Thai legal code.
Activists are still campaigning for more protection for the LGBT+ community, hoping for a Gender Recognition Act to legally protect and recognise the rights of people of all genders.
