Bangkok— On the fifth floor of a large Bangkok shopping center, newly married homosexuals swirled on a long rainbow carpet, posing for photographs while other couples who were still waiting to marry to present the required documents.
“Today is a milestone for the success of gender equality in Thailand,” said Permup Saiaung, who had come with his partner for almost two decades.
The couple was among hundreds of couples who married a massive ceremony on Thursday when the Thailand same -sex marriage law entered into force.
The law of equality in marriage, the first law of this type in Southeast Asia, redefines marriage as a society between two people of any kind and gives same -sex couples the legal rights of traditional marriage in matters such as inheritance , adoption and medical benefits.
LGBTQ+ couples celebrate the new Equality Law in Thailand's marriage in Bangkok.
(JIRASAK JIVAWAWAWANIT / ASSOCIATED Press)
“Today we are very happy because we have fought for equal marriage for so long,” said Saiaung, 54, owner of a cafeteria with his new wife, Puangphet Hengkham, 39.
The couple had never considered the benefits of marriage until Hengkham was injured in a motorcycle accident eight years ago. Saiaung could not authorize emergency treatment and, on the other hand, had to locate Hangkham's old mother.
In 2019, the couple sued for the right to marry. The provincial and constitutional courts failed against them.
Four years later, a bill to redefine marriage began to advance in the legislature to rewrite the Civil Code so that marriage is no longer between “a man and a woman” but between a “person and her spouse.” The bill was approved by the Senate in June and backed by the King in September.
A newly married gay couple walks on an iris rainbow carpet in Bangkok on Thursday, the first day a law that gives couples LGBTQ+ the same rights as heterosexual couples came into force.
(Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press)
Many couples who attended the massive wedding said they wanted to be part of the story. For others, it was a necessary formality to guarantee the legal rights of its long -term partners.
Jiraphat Finekorn, 42, began planning a wedding with Pornthipha Damkaew, 28, more than a year ago with the hope that the Project of Equal Marriage Law will be approved.
The two, who have been together for six years, organized their own ceremony on January 11 and made the marriage official on Thursday morning.
As a legal spouse, Damkaew will be able to share the social benefits that finekorn receives as a military officer and expect them to help them get a loan to buy a house together.
“My partner has gone through many things with me and it's my mentor and my best friend,” said Ftakorn. “It's time for her to also be my life partner.”
Waaddao Chumaporn is an outstanding defender of gender and co -founder rights of Bangkok Pride.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
Thailand has been known for a long time as a shelter for LGBTQ+communities, particularly in contrast to other Asian countries where homosexuality is still criminalized. It is only the third place in Asia that legalizes same -sex marriage, behind Taiwan in 2019 and Nepal in 2023.
Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet, 31, and Nathnicha Klinthaworn, 39, married Thursday.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
The queer scene in Bangkok is also an important attraction for LGBTQ+tourists, which are becoming a higher priority for Thai authorities.
But activists for equal marriage said they faced the opposition of conservative legislators.
Waaddao Chumaporn, an outstanding defender of gender and co -founder rights of Bangkok Pride, who helped organize the massive wedding on Thursday, said he hopes that other laws can be modified to be more inclusive, such as the use of neutral terms in terms of gender to define parents.
“The State recognizes us as a couple, but it still does not recognize us as a family,” he said.
Many activists also supported a gender recognition bill that would have allowed people to choose their legal names and titles based on gender identity instead of sex at birth. It failed last year in the legislature.
Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet, a 31 -year -old transgender man, often has problems with banks and government institutions that are directed to him as Mrs.
Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet and Nathnicha Klinthaworn look at their wedding rings. They were one of the first couples to marry under the Law of Equality in Thailand's marriage that legalized same -sex marriage.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
The government's refusal to recognize him as a woman also meant that he could not marry his lifelong girlfriend … until Thursday.
His father, who bothered when Thanomkhet declared himself a lesbian in high school and again when he began to take hormones for his transition, attended the wedding and said he was proud of his son.
Thanomkhet's wife, Nathnicha Klinthaworn, 39, known as Maple, said that her family took time to accept her sexuality and that of her partner.
“The movement has been fighting for 20 years,” he said. “This is the day.”
Mayuree and Nitchakan Muangjareun pose for a photograph after receiving marriage record on Thursday.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
At the end of the day, at least 1,839 same -sex couples had registered their marriages throughout the country. The 654 in Bangkok established a new worldwide Guinness record with the highest number of marriages between same -sex people in a city, exceeding the old 160 brand in Rio de Janeiro in 2013.
In front of the Bang Rak district office, Nitchakan, 30, explained that he had just adopted his partner's last name, Mayuree Muangjareun, 28. The two met working in the hotel industry.
“We have been together for a while,” said Nitchakan. “I want the law to protect us, because we don't know what will happen in the future.”
For other couples, marriage is not an urgent issue.
Thirty years ago, when Pakodchakon Wongsupha, 68, began dating Kan Kerdmeemun, 73, there were no terms such as LGBTQ+.
The relatives questioned their proximity, but women avoided discrimination by keeping reserved and paying little attention to the defense.
Pakodchakon Wongsupha, 68, and Kan Kerdmeemun, 73, have been together for 30 years. They support the new Equality Law in Thailand's marriage, but they are not in a hurry to marry themselves.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
But last year, the couple attended their first pride parade, encouraged by some friends. There they met younger couples who fought for equal marriage and began to participate in more community events.
“The world has changed very fast and we have lived so long to see it,” said Wongsupha.
Other activists began calling them grandmother and grandfather, nicknames that since then adopted at home to replace traditional affectionate terms.
The couple celebrated with the youngest generations when the draft Equality Law was approved in the marriage last year. Kerdmeemun cried when he heard the news.
But they are not in a hurry to marry.
“It doesn't matter if we organize a ceremony or something,” said Wongsupha. “Staying together is enough.”
Special correspondent wasu Viposanapat In Bangkok contributed to this report.
