Thailand becomes first Southeast Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage

Thailand’s Senate near-unanimously approved a bill that would legalise same-sex marriage in the country, inching closer to marriage equality

Scores of LGBTQI+ persons and organisations took to the streets in Bangkok today to celebrate the development

The Marriage Equality Bill, which grants full legal, financial and medical rights for marriage partners of any gender, was approved by 130 out of 152 members in attendance

Further, the legislation also aims to replace the words “man” and “woman” in the country’s Civil and Commercial Code with “individual”

Having passed by both the House of Representatives in April and the Senate today, the bill must now be endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Monarch of Thailand

The current Thai government, led by the Peu Thai Party, has made marriage equality one of its main goals

This bill makes Thailand the third Asian nation to legalise same-sex marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal