GUWAHATI: Thailand is set to join Taiwan and Nepal as the third country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage and the first in Southeast Asia.
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Thailand’s Senate on Tuesday, June 17 voted in favour of a marriage equality bill, according to reports.
The Senate’s 130 members out of 152 voted in favour of the bill; 4 voted against it and 18 abstained.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn will now need to sign on it before it is published in the Royal Government Gazette, which will set a date within 120 days when it becomes effective.
The bill grants full legal, financial and medical rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill has also changed the Civil and Commercial Code to replace words such as “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.”
Thailand has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law due to conservative values and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ community.
Government and state agencies have also been historically conservative, making advocacy for marriage equality a difficult process of getting lawmakers and civil servants in the country to accept change.