Bangkok, Thailand
CNN
—
Hundreds of same-sex couples are expected to wed across Thailand on Thursday, as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.
This historic bill marks a momentous victory for the LGBTQ+ community, which has fought for more than a decade for the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples.
“This could be a model for the world because we now have Thailand as a model. There is true marriage equality in Thailand,” said Kittinun Daramadhaj, a lawyer and president of the Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, one of several equality campaigners.
Under the legislation, passed by Thailand’s parliament and approved by the king last year, same-sex couples will be able to register their marriage with full legal, financial and medical rights, as well as adoption and legacy.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra praised the country’s success at an event last week, when she invited dozens of LGBTQ+ couples and activists to government offices.
“This demonstrates that Thailand is ready to embrace diversity and accept love in all its forms. Today it shows that our country is open and tolerant,” she said.
Celebrations will be held in other parts of the country on Thursday, from the eastern coastal city of Pattaya to the northern mountainous city of Chiang Mai.
In downtown Bangkok, at least 200 couples registered to get married in a mass wedding at a popular shopping mall, according to Bangkok Pride, which co-organized the event with local authorities.
Rainbow flags are set to wave in the heart of Bangkok, with a “pride carpet” rolling out during a celebration to welcome the newlyweds, and performances by celebrities and drag queens.
For some, like Nina Chetniphat Chuadkhunthod, who will attend the mass celebration at Siam Paragon Mall, the day seems long overdue.
The transgender woman has been unable to marry her boyfriend of 22 years because she is not legally able to change her gender identity. But with same-sex marriage now recognized, they can get married.
“I feel like, wow, my dream is about to come true,” the 42-year-old told CNN in a recent interview.
Chuadkhunthod and his fiancée held their wedding three weeks ago. At a wedding venue on the outskirts of Bangkok, the couple walked down the aisle arms crossed, while bridesmaids strewn their path with rose petals to the cheers of their friends and relatives. They plan to register their marriage on Thursday.
“It felt like the proudest moment of my life to be able to do this and let the people and the industry and the friends around me know that I could do this,” she said.
A particularly pressing factor for the couple is the 7-year-old girl they have been raising as their daughter for three years. The girl is the daughter of Chuadkhunthod’s uncle, who cannot take care of her.
They plan to adopt the girl and live a family life, but cannot do so without a valid marriage.
“I had tears in my eyes when we thought about our lives (without the same-sex marriage law). What if… me, or him, or even my daughter got sick, who would take care of us? she said.
But now she said: “I can say with confidence that I can do this, start my own family. »
Filipino national Ana Boncan met her Thai girlfriend Siri Wattanavikij through a dating app six years ago while working in Europe. In 2020, Boncan moved to Bangkok to be with her.
“With this opportunity to legally get married here in Thailand, it gives us the opportunity to have a marriage visa,” Boncan said.
One thing that worries the couple is the possibility that one of them will become ill and the other will be prohibited from visiting them or making life or death decisions due to the lack of act of marriage.
“When we go to the hospital, I can tell them that she’s my wife, she’s my partner, she makes decisions for me, things like that. Unlike before, they didn’t accept him in the hospital,” Boncan said.
But human rights experts warn that Thailand may well be the last Asian jurisdiction to recognize same-sex marriage for some time, given gradual progress elsewhere in the region.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than 30 countries worldwide now recognize same-sex marriage, but most progress has been made in Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
Thailand is the third country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage after Taiwan in 2019 and Nepal four years later.
In Thailand, the fight for equal rights continues for other sexual minorities, such as transgender people.
Rights advocate Hua Boonyapisomparn, of the local advocacy group Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights, said the next step is for the Thai government to allow transgender people to change their gender identity.
The country is home to around 314,000 trans people, according to the Asia-Pacific Transgender Network.
There is a widely held conception that trans people are widely accepted in Thailand, in part because of the accessibility of gender-affirming surgery in the country and the prominence of trans artists.
But local transgender people, including Chuadkhunthod, would testify to the discrimination they face on a daily basis.
“Even now, as Thais, they still look down on us, considering us a joke. They laugh and smile, nudge each other while looking at us,” she said.
Parliament rejected a gender recognition bill last February under the previous military-backed government led by Prayut Chan-o-cha. Activists are now trying to put it back on the political agenda.
“We should use marriage equality as an opportunity to open another door to gender recognition,” Boonyapisoparn said.