When Thailand’s long-awaited equal marriage law came into effect on Thursday, police officer Pisit “Kew” Sirihirunchai hoped to be among the first in line to marry his long-term partner, Chanatip “Jane” Sirihirunchai.
And he was – they were the sixth couple to register their union at one of Bangkok’s grandest shopping malls, in an event city officials helped organise to celebrate this legal milestone.
Hundreds of couples across Thailand received marriage certificates on Thursday, breaking into smiles or tearing up over the moment they had dreamed of for so long.
It was a pageant of colours and costumes as district officials hosted parties with photo booths and free cupcakes – one Bangkok district was giving air tickets to the first couple who registered their marriage there.
“The rainbow flag is flying high over Thailand,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra wrote on Facebook from Davos, where she is attending the World Economic Forum.
Activsts said they were hoping to cross the 1, 448-mark for registrations by the end of Thursday – 1, 448 is the clause in the Thai Civil Code covering the definition of marriage.
“We have been ready for such a long time,” Pisit said. “We have just been waiting for the law to catch up and support us.”
The two men have been together for seven years. Eager to formalise their relationship, they had previously been to a Buddhist monk to give them an auspicious new last name they can share – Sirihirunchai. They had also asked local officials to issue a letter of intent, which they both signed, pledging to get married.
But they said having their partnership recognised under Thai law is what they had been waiting for: “This is perfect for us. The law that protects our rights.”
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Until now, official documents listed Pisit and Chanatip as brothers. That way they could be a family in the eyes of the law. A marriage certificate means LGBTQ+ couples now have the same rights as any other couple to get engaged and married, to manage their assets, to inherit and to adopt children.
They can also make decisions about medical treatment if their partner becomes ill and incapacitated, or extend financial benefits – such as Pisit’s government pension – to their spouse.
“We want to build a future together – build a house, start a small business together, maybe a café,” he adds, making a list of all that the law has enabled. “We want to build our future together and to take care of each other.”
The law, which passed in both houses of parliament in June last year, before being endorsed by the Thai king in September, is a big step for LGBTQ+ rights.
Thailand remains an outlier in Asia in recognising marriage equality – only Nepal and Taiwan have legalised same-sex unions.
