Thailand will become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage
A hundred couples will meet at the next Valentine's Day, 14 February, to stage the first mass same-sex wedding in Thailand, which will seek to raise its voice for the rights of the collective LGTBI at a time when Parliament is discussing the legalization of same-sex marriage.
For the first time in the country's history, a record number of couples LGTBI will make your link official in the “Naruemit Vivah”, in a proposed ceremony “change the narrative and remember that love is for everyone and “not just for heterosexual couples”, according to the activist and organizer of the event, Tangkliang Chumapon.
"The purpose of this event is to raise awareness so that society knows about LGTBI life and struggle for the right to establish their families, as well as advocate for legal protection, in this case equal marriage"he declared. That same day, the huge gardens of the stadium Youth Center in Bangkok They will host, simultaneously with the collective wedding, a gastronomic festival, a photographic exhibition and various musical presentations.
The appointment takes place at a key moment for the collective LGTBI en ThailandWhose Parliament took a first step last June by admitting two proposals to legalize civil unions or same-sex marriages, although they must be subjected to two more scrutiny in the Low camera, in addition to going through the Senate, Constitutional Court and receive the king's signature.
Celebration and vindication
In this regard, chumapon He stated that the group wedding next February will take on different meanings depending on the possible outcomes in the legislative sphere. “If on February 14 the equal marriage bill has been approved, this event will be a celebration. If it has not yet been approved, it means that we will be pressing for it to be approved”, he pointed. He added that, if the bill has been rejected at the time, the participants will collect signatures so that the matter can be processed again in Parliament until it receives approval.
Although it is usually presented as a paradise of "pink tourism”, people LGTBI in the country they still lack rights such as getting married, adopting children or even being able to change their name or gender on identity documents. In recent years, however, the community's long struggle LGTBI dating back to the 1980s, has borne some fruit.
En 2015, the Government approved a law that prohibits discrimination based on gender and, two months ago, two NGOs presented for the first time the outline of a bill for gender recognition.
