Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to allow same-sex unions, which are already legal in 38 countries.
Thailand has just become the first country in Southeast Asia in recognizing the equal marriage and in the third in Asia in allowing it, after Nepal y TaiwánThe law, approved by a large majority in Parliament last June, came into force on Thursday. Same-sex marriage is now legal in 38 countries, a milestone that will be celebrated with hundreds of connections through a group event. A wave of registrations is expected throughout the country.
Throughout the country, 1.839 homosexual couples -twice more lesbians than gays– have signed the papers before the administration. The first couple to marry is made up of two women: Ployanapat Jirasukorn, of 33 years, and Kwanporn Kongphet, 32. They sealed their relationship in a ceremony held at the shopping center Siam Paragon in Bangkok. Above 300 couples They celebrated a collective wedding in the Thai capital, a symbol of the step achieved in the Asian country, accompanied by the speech of the Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, while in parallel a multitude of events were held in provinces throughout the country.
Advances and setbacks of LGTBIQ+ rights
The collective LGBTIQ+ in Thailand has made progress in its rights that have been stalled for years by the two military coups since 2006 that restricted civil liberties. After 10 years of attempts, a favorable ruling from the Constitutional Court in 2020 It was a turning point, and in 2024 the measure had the support of the country's majority parties. As of this Thursday, same-sex couples residing in Thailand They will have the same recognition as heterosexuals. They will be able to inherit, adopt and make decisions regarding the health of their spouses..
The new marriage law has eliminated all references to men and women, referring to people in a neutral way. It will not apply, in any case, in the four southern Thai provinces, which have an overwhelming Muslim majority.
After Taiwan became the first Asian territory to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019, Nepal followed in 2023. But the setbacks are palpable in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei that criminalize same-sex relationships.
En China Homosexuality has been legal since 1997, although the community still faces numerous prejudices and challenges. India In 2018, like Singapore, it decriminalized the colonial law that criminalized gays and lesbians, but it only recognizes marriage for opposite-sex couples. Japan is the only member of the G7 does not recognize gay marriage, although in recent years its courts and local authorities have taken a series of steps that pave the way for future legalization.
A total of 38 member countries of the United Nations allow same-sex marriage or civil unions between persons of the same sex, according to the database of the International Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersex (ILGA)In eight out of ten countries, no type of legal union between homosexual persons is recognized.
In some regions the rights LGTBIQ + retreat. As soon as he came to power, the president of USA, Donald Trump, signed an executive order that only recognizes the existence of the masculine and the feminine, making trans people invisible. Bulgaria, following in the wake of Russia, last year the “non-traditional sexual orientation propaganda" in schools and institutes and the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, banned the use of inclusive language in February 2024.
