Thailand is moving closer to legalizing equal marriage. MPs gave the green light on Wednesday March 27 by a large majority for what would be a first in South-East Asia.
The vote marks an important step forward, but the text must still pass before the Senate before its final promulgation by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The procedure could take several more weeks, or even months.
“Thailand is finally accepted and recognized as a true LGBT+ paradise,” Chanya Rattanathada, a 27-year-old activist who contributed to parliamentary work, told AFP.
When the result was announced, applause rang out in the hemicycle, where some elected officials waved the rainbow flag, symbol of the LGBT+ community, according to images broadcast by the parliamentary channel.
“Today, society proved to us that it paid attention to LGBT+ rights (...) Now, we will finally have the same rights as others,” the opposition MP reacted to AFP Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat, member of the progressive Move Forward party.
The kingdom could become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize unions between two people of the same sex, and the third in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal.
A member of the LGBTQIA+ community holds a sign demanding marriage for all during a demonstration in Bangkok on June 4, 2023 © MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP/Archives
“Win-win” for all Thais
The LGBT+ community is very visible in the country known for its values of tolerance, but laws considered conservative continue to fuel discrimination against homosexual couples or transgender people.
After decades of struggle by activists, the marriage for all project has today attracted broad support from the main political movements, both from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and from Move Forward, which defends an in-depth overhaul of institutions.
The proposal adopted by MPs aims to change references to "men", "women", "husbands" and "wives" in the Marriage Act to replace them with gender-neutral terms.
The new legislation must also give homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in matters of adoption or inheritance.
It’s a “win-win” for all Thais, said Danuphorn Punnakanta, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s party, Pheu Thai.
This is not the first time that Thailand has considered the issue, but the instability which characterizes the political life of the kingdom had got the better of previous attempts.
The Prime Minister kept his campaign promise
In 2021, the Constitutional Court reaffirmed the validity of the law recognizing marriage only between a man and a woman, while calling on lawmakers to take into account the rights of people who do not conform to this framework.
“This is a huge step for our country (...) I hope that the last stage will go smoothly, and that Thailand will be at the same level as the rest of the world in terms of LGBT+ rights,” he said. declared to AFP Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, spokesperson for the human rights group Fortify Rights.
Thousands of people have participated in Bangkok's Pride march over the past two years, where the municipality offers marriage certificates, without official value, to gay couples who wish them on Valentine's Day.
Inducted last year, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has maintained her campaign promise to legalize same-sex marriage, despite the presence of conservative pro-army parties within her maligned coalition. The leader said last year that the law change would strengthen family structures.
If Thailand is preparing to authorize same-sex unions, the law does not grant recognition to transgender or non-binary people who want to change their gender on their identity documents.
With AFP
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