Marriage Equality Comes Into Effect in Thailand
In a 130 to 4 majority vote by the senate, Thailand passed a marriage equality bill on June 18, 2024, making it the first South Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage and third Asian country overall after Taiwan and Nepal. The bill was then formally signed by Thailand’s king Maha Vajiralongkorn later that year on August 12, officially coming into effect just recently on January 23, 2025.
Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code has replaced gendered words such as “men and women” and “husband and wife” with “individuals” and “spouses”. This advancement comes not long after when the Constitutional Court ruled in 2021 that a section of the Civil and Commercial Code defining marriage as only being between men and women was constitutional, stating that LGBTQ+ people are a “different species” incapable of creating “delicate” bonds equal to that of heterosexual relationships.
By enacting this new law, Thailand becomes an outlier in comparison to surrounding countries. In Malaysia and Brunei, same-sex relationships remain criminalized and offending peoples could face harsh punishments such as imprisonment or death.
In addition to the right to marriage, same-sex couples have been granted financial, medical, legal, and adoption rights equal to that of heterosexuals. On the 23, the organization “Bangkok Pride” held a mass-wedding for queer couples, in which over 650 couples registered their marriages in the nation’s capital. Nearly 4,500 couples total wed within the first two days of the law’s effect, according to information gathered by Bangkok Pride.
The equal marriage law has benefited more than just gay and lesbian citizens. Because Thai citizens are unable to change their gender on legal documents, the absence of marriage equality barred people like Nina Chetniphat Chuadkhunthod, a 42-year-old transgender woman, from marrying her boyfriend of 22 years until recently. “I feel like, wow, my dream is close to coming true,” she told CNN in an interview. A bill proposing gender recognition was previously denied, but activists in the country are looking to put it back on the political agenda.
