Thailand’s king has officially signed a marriage equality bill into law, making the country the first in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex unions. The bill, which cleared the Senate in June, required royal endorsement to become law and was published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday. It will take effect on January 22, next year.
Activists are celebrating this landmark move as a historic achievement, marking the culmination of years of campaigning for marriage equality. Thailand has long been regarded as a relatively welcoming environment for the LGBTQ+ community in a region where such attitudes are often lacking.
The new law replaces traditional gender-specific terms such as “husbands” and “wives” with gender-neutral language. It also grants same-sex couples rights related to adoption and inheritance. Ann Chumaporn, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Bangkok Pride movement, remarked, “Today we’re not only getting to write our names in marriage certificates, but we are also writing a page in history… that tells us that love never set a condition of who we were born to be. It’s a triumph of equality and human dignity.” Chumaporn plans to organize a mass wedding for over 1,000 LGBTQ+ couples on the law’s effective date.
Advertising strategist Kwankaow Koosakulnirund expressed the significance of the recognition, stating, “[The legal recognition] means we are fully accepted and can live our lives without conditions or compromises.” He added, “Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community can now look toward a future beyond relationships, embracing the sense of pride that this law brings.”
Another activist, Siritata Ninlapruek, shared her excitement: “We are all delighted and excited. We’ve been fighting for our rights for over 10 years, and now it’s finally happening.”
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra celebrated the development on X, saying, “Congratulations on everyone’s love. #LoveWins.” Former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a vocal supporter of the bill, called it a “significant step” for Thailand, asserting that “equity and equality have become concrete in Thai society.”
When the law comes into effect, Thailand will become only the third place in Asia, following Taiwan and Nepal, where same-sex couples can legally marry. In 2019, Taiwan’s parliament made history as the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. More recently, Nepal registered its first same-sex union in November last year, shortly after its Supreme Court ruled in favor of such unions.
This ruling came just a month after India’s top court decided against legalizing same-sex marriage, leaving the matter to the government, which announced plans to form a panel to explore additional legal rights for same-sex couples.
In 2022, Singapore repealed a colonial-era law that prohibited gay sex but simultaneously amended its constitution to ensure that marriage is defined exclusively as a union between a man and a woman, thereby restricting any future legal challenges regarding the definition of marriage.
