The king of Thailand has given approval to the marriage equality bill passed by parliament earlier this year, making it the third Asian territory to formally legalise same-sex unions.
The law, endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, takes effect in 120 days. It enables same-sex couples to marry and get full legal, financial, and medical rights.
This makes Thailand the first Southeast Asian country and the third in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage after Taiwan and Nepal.
Though Thailand is known for its acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, legalising same-sex marriage took decades of effort and advocacy in a largely conservative Buddhist society.
The government of the Pheu Thai party, which had made marriage equality a priority, plans to celebrate the law’s enactment at the next Bangkok Pride.
“Congratulations to everyone’s love,” prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on X, adding the hashtag #LoveWins.
Bangkok deputy governor Sanon Wangsrangboon said last week that city officials will be ready to register same-sex marriages once the law takes effect.
The new law amends Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code, replacing gender-specific terms like “men and women” with gender-neutral terms like “individual”.
“Today we are not only getting to write our names in marriage certificates but we are also writing a page in history,” Ann Chumaporn, LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Bangkok Pride movement was quoted as saying by theBBC. “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.”
Another activist, Siritata Ninlapruek, told AFP: “We are all delighted and excited. We’ve been fighting for our rights for over 10 years, and now it’s finally happening.”
Former prime minister Srettha Thavisin described the new piece of legislation as a “significant step” for Thailand.
“Equity and equality have become concrete in the Thai society. Gender diversity will eventually be fully accepted. Congratulations,” he wrote on X.
“It means a lot. This is the eighth year of our relationship but our status isn’t legally recognised,” Naphat Krutthai, who has been in a same-sex relationship for eight years, told Associated Press last December.
“When either of us gets sick or has an emergency, we can’t take care of each other properly. So it really matters to us,” he said.
The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex unions in 2001. Since then over 30 countries worldwide have followed suit.