Thailand’s king has signed a marriage equality bill into law, making the country the first in South East Asia to recognise same-sex unions, Edum News reports.
The bill cleared the Senate in June but required royal endorsement to become law.
It was published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday and is expected to come into effect on 22 January next year.
Reactions have trailed the new law, with activists hailing the move as historic as it marks the culmination of years of campaigning for marriage equality.
“Today we’re not only getting to write our names in marriage certificates, but we are also writing a page in history… that tells us that love never set a condition of who we were born to be,” Ann Chumaporn, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Bangkok Pride movement, told the BBC.
Thailand has long been seen as a relative haven for the LGBTQ+ community in a region where such attitudes are rare.
Written by Hope James
