Thailand This Tuesday became the first country in Southeast Asia and the third on the continent to legalize equal marriagea milestone after years of struggle that was marked by several celebrations and an LGBI+ march in the capital.

The Thai Senate approved the bill on Monday on third and final reading with an overwhelming majority. (130 votes in favor, 4 against, 18 abstentions)following a path marked by the strong support he received in Congress in March.

It is expected that the rules will come into effect at the end of the yearafter going through a series of formal procedures: after the support of both houses, it will be sent to the government cabinet and subsequently signed by the King of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The bill will finally come into force 120 days after its publication in the Royal Gazette, which This is expected to happen towards the end of October or November.when it was possible to celebrate the first weddings.

“Thailand’s new marriage equality law is a triumph for justice and human rights (…) The road to this point has been long and riddled with difficulties, but today’s vote is in favor guarantee equal marriage “This is a historic moment that deserves to be celebrated,” Mukdapa Yanguenpradorn, an activist with the NGO Fortify Rights, said in a statement.

To celebrate this historic vote, several events were held in Bangkok, including an event hosted by Prime Minister Sretta Taweesin – one of the instigators of change – at Government House, as well as a parade along some of Bangkok’s main avenues. city.

Celebrations and hope for new changes

“I am very happy about the approval of the law and hope to get married in the future. I am optimistic about the future of Thailand. and I hope that there will be more changes in the LGBT+ community,” Sivapot Fujomdao assured EFE from one of the places in the city where the celebrations took place.

The march, dubbed by Wadao activist Ann Chumaporn, who called today “the biggest day we’ve been waiting for,” included a small stage for performances, a display of rainbow flags and a parade of dozens of couples holding hands.

“Our voices were heard and today we won. We brought equality to Thailand“He noted this in his statement.

Among the fundamental changes the law intends to make is the labeling of marriage as a union of “two people” rather than “a man and a woman”, and changing the legal status of “husband and wife” to “married couple” without specifying gender.

In addition, the new law guarantees LGBTI+ unions the same rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples, including inheritance, tax breaks and adoption of children.

Already last year, on Pride Day, marked by a mass march on the streets of the Thai capital, the legalization of equal marriage was put forward, one of the proposals in the election program of Avanzar, the winning party in the 2023 elections, which failed to do so. form a government due to the blockade of the Conservative Senate.

Sretta Taweesin, who managed to form a government in coalition with other parties, including two pro-military parties, also supported this initiative.

Once it takes effect, Thailand will become the third Asian country where gay couples can marry, after Taiwan and Nepal, and the first in Southeast Asia, a region where abuses of the group’s rights are palpable in countries such as Indonesia. Malaysia or Brunei.

Although Thailand has one of the largest and most visible LGBT+ communities in all of Asia, activists have for years criticized Thailand’s conservative laws for failing to reflect the changes and attitudes of society in recent decades by failing to recognize transgender and non-gender people. binary, among other examples.

“Activists have been fighting for this for more than 20 years,” Waddao Ann Chumaporn said in a statement, saying the law is just “the beginning of creating an egalitarian society that respects gender diversity.”

EFE