Members of the LGBTQ community and allies participate in the Bangkok Pride Parade in Thailand on June 1, 2024. Thailand looks set to become the first Southeast Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. Credit – Lauren DeCicca – Getty Images
TDozens of people poured into the streets of Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Saturday to mark Pride Month, the first to be celebrated with a sense that legal equality in marriage for same-sex couples in the country is near, as lawmakers inch closer to expected passage. a bill that would codify marriage as between two individuals rather than between a man and a woman.
The parade, with the theme ‘Celebration of Love’, covered about 1.5 km of roads in the city’s commercial district. The governor of Bangkok, multinational companies and advocacy groups were among the participants, although the gathering came alive with concerts in trucks, parading drag queens and the occasional band of drummers. Some protesters carried a poster of a marriage certificate that read: “This marriage certificate shows that all genders can get married.” Others raised a giant rainbow flag as they ran through Bangkok’s busy roads.
Karin Chai, 47, a Bangkok resident and parade participant, said this year’s event feels more serious than previous editions. “We have been working with the community in Bangkok,” said Karin. “The public sector realized that the LGBT community is also one of the communities we need to understand.”
Naruemit Pride – which has been organizing the celebrations since 2022 – previously told TIME that the focus of the event was on the transition to marriage equality, as the movement has been going on in Thailand for more than a decade.
Waddao Ann Chumaporn, president and founder of Naruemit Pride, said in a press release shared ahead of the event that this year is important for the LGBTQ+ community, especially because of the impending passage of the bill. “Naruemit Pride therefore organized the Bangkok Pride Festival 2024 as an event to also celebrate this success, and as a countdown to the official implementation of the Equal Marriage Law,” she said.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin led the march, wearing a rainbow-colored shirt. He was accompanied by Pheu Thai party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Srettha is the first Thai Prime Minister to participate in the Bangkok Pride Parade. Since taking office in August 2023, Srettha has made marriage equality a priority for the government to resolve.
“Thailand will continue to support gender diversity after successfully passing the Marriage Equality Law,” Srettha said at the start of the parade. “We look forward to pushing for gender recognition and laws for sex workers.”
A 23-year-old investment banker, who identified herself as ‘Maew Chol’, said she is excited about the expected passage of the marriage equality law. “Now it is officially declared that Thailand, the Thai people and Thai legality support true love,” Maew tells TIME.
The Bangkok Pride parade was held months after the lower house of Thailand’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to amend the country’s Civil and Commercial Code and effectively allow same-sex marriage. The Senate is currently deliberating on the amendment bill, and if they approve it, the bill will be sent to the King for royal assent.
Although the new session of Parliament was expected to begin in July, advocacy group Fortify Rights announced earlier this week that the Senate will hold an ad hoc session on June 18 to vote on the bill.
If passed, Thailand will be the third country in Asia – and the first among Southeast Asian countries – to achieve marriage equality, after Taiwan in 2019 and Nepal in 2023. The law will recognize marriage registrations of same-sex partners aged 18 years and older, as well as their rights to inheritance, tax benefits and adoption of children.
Despite its reputation as a vibrant Asian hub for the LGBT community, Thailand still lacks many legal protections for people of different sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. The country’s parliament in March rejected a bill on gender recognition, which would have allowed transgender and non-binary Thais to change their legal sex characteristics.
But Maew believes the passage of the marriage equality law marks a significant change in Thailand: “We are moving forward. That is a huge step.”
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