More than 1,800 same-sex couples have married in Thailand after the country became the first in south-east Asia to recognise equal marriage following a two-decade struggle by activists.
Thailand’s parliament flew rainbow flags, while special wedding events were held in malls and district offices across the country on Thursday. In Bangkok, more than 200 couples lined up to get married at a mass wedding at one of the city’s largest shopping centres. Dozens more booked online to register at the district offices of Bang Rak, in the capital, a popular location for weddings as its name translates to “district of love”. Smaller events took place nationwide, from Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen in the north, to Phuket in the south.
Rungtiwa Thongkanopast, 59, was among more than 200 couples to marry at the event in central Bangkok. She said: “I am very happy, and very proud to [experience] what I have waited for for so long.”
Thirteen years ago, Rungtiwa and her partner, Phonlavee, 45, went to their local district office to register to marry. They knew that as a same-sex couple they would be rejected – but they wanted to illustrate this injustice to the public. Over the years, other couples have made similar protests as part of the campaign for change.
LGBTQ+ campaigners had hoped to reach 1,448 wedding registrations on Thursday – a reference to the number of the Thai civil code that was changed to allow equal marriage. By 6pm, 1,832 marriages had been registered, including 654 in Bangkok, where celebrations were due to continue into the night with drag performances and exhibitions on LGBTQ+ history.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the prime minister, said on social media: “Today, the rainbow flag is proudly flying over Thailand.”
Her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, who attended the mass wedding in Bangkok, congratulated couples, and criticised Donald Trump, who on Monday decreed there were only two genders in the US. “Recently a country’s leader said that there were only two genders, but I think we are more open-minded than that,” he said.
Thailand has a vibrant and visible LGBTQ+ community, and a reputation for being one of Asia’s most welcoming countries, but it has been a long journey to reach equal marriage.
A cultural shift
Ann Waaddao Chumaporn, who has spent more than a decade pushing for legal change, said media representations in the past had created stigma around the community, and Thailand’s tumultuous politics had slowed progress. Thailand has experienced two military coups since 2006, which placed power in the hands of conservatives and at times restricted civil society activities.
But the political mood changed in recent years. “A big milestone was the pro-democracy movement, when the new generation tried to push a new agenda,” said Waaddao, referencing a protest movement that emerged in 2020, calling for democratic reforms and gender and LGBTQ+ equality.
Media portrayals have also shifted. Today, Thailand is famous for its boy’s love series – TV dramas that portray gay romance and have amassed a following across Asia.
After marrying on Thursday morning, Rungtiwa and Phonlavee took part in a parade in the capital with other newly weds. Dancers dressed in Thai pink silks, shimmied and twirled their hands to the beat of Thai drums, and supporters waved rainbow flags, as Bangkok’s infamous traffic chugged along the road.
Also in the parade was Ruchaya Nillakan, 45, and her wife, Nuttimon Sanyamast, 46. “I feel very happy, very honoured. I’m shaking, still. My heart is pumping,” said Ruchaya. “I feel like I belong to someone.”
She said she never thought this day would come. Aged 16, her family told her that if she wanted to have a girlfriend, she should leave home. Back then, parents worried that if their child was LGBTQ+ they would struggle to get a job or face bullying, she said. As a teenager, she went to live at her partner’s house, but her mother would call every day asking her to come home. She felt guilty, and eventually the relationship ended.
“I always thought it’s wrong [to be a lesbian], it’s bad. [I thought] OK, I’m going to become a normal woman married to a man,” she said. She did marry, but her three previous marriages ended in divorce. She met Nuttimon in 2023 and they fell in love and decided to stop worrying about society’s expectations. “I’m going to be with the one whom I want to be,” she said. Nuttimon had also been married previously, and they were both at a similar stage in their lives, said Ruchaya, who runs a tax services company.
Ruchaya’s family was supportive of their marriage. Her father, she said, could see how happily they get along.
Marriage will give same-sex couples equal access to various rights. Tawach Chaweewong, 32, and Thanakorn Srikornthai, 36, who have been together almost eight years and married at an event in HuaHin, a seaside resort south of Bangkok, point to the ability to make medical decisions on behalf of their partner in the event of an emergency, and to apply for joint loans.
They said they believed the law would help contribute to cultural change. “Now I can be fully open,” said Tawach, who sells clothes online.
Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, from the campaign group Fortify Rights, said the law needed more revisions to offer better protection. This included switching to gender-neutral language, such as “parent”, in the civil and commercial code.
Elsewhere in south-east Asia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Brunei criminalise same-sex sexual activity, as does Aceh province in Indonesia.
But in Thailand, it is a time for celebrations. “We are proud to be LGBTQ+ Thai,” said Ruchaya. “I’m so proud, stunned. I didn’t realise that this day would come and I would get this opportunity to be with someone I want to be with.”
