Thailand on Tuesday became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, with a historic vote in the Senate celebrated as a “victory” by the LGBTQ+ community.
The upper house of Parliament approved by 130 votes in favor (four against, 18 abstentions) this text which will be presented to King Maha Vajiralongkorn for promulgation and which will come into force 120 days after its official publication.
Since the Netherlands, the first country to celebrate same-sex unions in 2001, more than thirty states have legalized same-sex marriage around the world. In Asia, only Taiwan and Nepal had so far taken the plunge.
“Today, love won over prejudice,” responded activist Plaifah Kyoka Shodladd, who took part in the work of drafting the law.
Before the vote, Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat, an MP from the pro-democracy Move Forward party, hailed “a victory for the people”, which brings back “smiles”, in a period of political turbulence.
Consensus
The text, voted on in March by a large majority by deputies, modifies the references to “men”, “women”, “husbands” or “wives” to replace them with non-gendered terms, in this case “individuals” and “marriage partners”. It also grants homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in matters of adoption or inheritance.
However, transgender or non-binary people will still not be able to change their gender on their identity documents.
“My partner has a son and I want to have the right to adopt him and have a say in his education. This law will allow it,” rejoiced Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet, 30, to AFP.
Marriage for all sparks a rare consensus in the Thai kingdom, divided between the conservative bloc favorable to the army and the king and the progressive opposition supported by the younger generations.
The LGBTQ+ community enjoys wide visibility in Thailand, known for its tolerance and attracting gay tourists from conservative neighboring countries.
After the vote, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, opened her official residence for a party. “We have fought for a long time because we believe in equal rights for all,” he reacted on his X account. “Today is our day. We celebrate the variety of love, not the difference. Love is beautiful, powerful.”
“Super proud”
In the center of Bangkok, many homosexual activists expressed their joy by attending a “drag queens” show. The ground of the capital’s cultural and artistic center was covered with a giant rainbow flag for the occasion.
“As a Thai, I am super proud,” said Korakoch Jeumsanga, 23. “The law will benefit straight people and gay people. I got chills when it was voted on.”
Miles Enriquez-Morales, a Californian tourist interviewed in the crowd, said he hoped Thailand would follow suit.
“It wouldn’t happen in China,” commented Joe Yang, 32, a Chinese from Guangzhou, very happy for the Thais and who thought that same-sex marriage had long been authorized in Thailand, given the climate of tolerance.
“We do this for everyone. If society grants rights to everyone, then it is a society where we can live,” Adisorn Juntrasook, who took part in the work of drafting the law as an expert, explained before the vote.
The coming to power last summer of Srettha Thavisin, the first civilian to serve as prime minister since the 2014 coup, accelerated Thailand’s usually tortuous legislative process. The chronic instability of Thai political life, between coups d’état and large popular protest movements, had overcome previous attempts at legalization in recent years.
Thailand is going through a period of uncertainty, due to proceedings at the Constitutional Court targeting Srettha Thavisin and Move Forward, the two main political advocates of equal marriage.
Move Forward risks dissolution, and its leaders a ban from political life for several years, for having promised to revise the law on the crime of lèse-majesté during the campaign for the 2023 legislative elections. A sanction which, if it materializes, would mark a setback in democracy, human rights groups fear.