Context
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Thailand on the verge of becoming the first country in Southeast Asia, and third in Asia after Nepal and Taiwan, to legalise same-sex marriage.
Key Details
- The new legislation changes references to “men”, “women”, “husbands” and “wives” in Thai marriage laws to gender-neutral terms such as “spouse” and “person”. This means that two persons can marry each other, regardless of their gender.
Source: Mint - It also grants same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in areas such as adoption, inheritance, and tax benefits. LGBTQ+ couples effectively possess the same legal powers as their heterosexual counterparts in case of legal incapacitation, from being able to access bank accounts to providing consent for medical treatment.
Situation in rest of Asia, world
- Apart from Thailand, Taiwan, and Nepal, other Asian countries do not fare well when it comes to marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights.
- Last year, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India refused to alter the Special Marriage Act (SMA) of 1954 to give legal recognition to same-sex marriages, putting the onus on Parliament to legislate marriage equality.
- In fact, at least 20 Asian countries outlaw same-sex sexual activity, with Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen, even prescribing the death penalty. In India, same-sex relations between consenting adults were decriminalised after a landmark Supreme Court judgment in 2018.
- Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in 36 countries (not including Thailand) globally, according LGBTQ+ rights advocacy Human Rights Campaign.
- These are: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
Source: IE
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