Thailand’s long-awaited equal marriage law went into effect on Thursday. The official endorsement of same-sex marriage consequently paved way for thousands of weddings.
Police officer Pisit ‘Kew’ Sirihirunchai hoped to be among the first in queue to marry his long-time partner Chanatip ‘Jane’ Sirihirunchai.They were the sixth couple to register their union at one of Bangkok’s grandest shopping malls, in an event that city officials helped organise to celebrate this legal milestone.
Hundreds of couples across Thailand received marriage certificates on Thursday, smiling or crying over the newly-fund lives.
It was a pageant of colours and costumes as district officials hosted parties with photo booths and free cup cakes – one Bangkok district was giving air tickets to the first couple who registered their marriage there.

Over 100 couples are getting married at a posh mall in central Bangkok, one of the largest events of the day. The law went into effect on Thursday following a protracted campaign that one activist called a “long fight full of tears,” giving LGBTQ couples the same rights as other couples to manage assets, inherit, dopt and take decisions about their partner’s medical treatment.
After Taiwan and Nepal, Thailand is now the third country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriages following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act.

The Civil and Commercial Code was amended by the marriage equality bill, which passed both houses of parliament, to substitute the terms “individuals” and “marriage partners” for “men and women” and “husband and wife.” It is intended to give LGBTQ+ couples access to their full range of legal, financial, and medical rights.

Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity and thousands of people from around the world attend the annual Bangkok Pride parade. But rights advocates have struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law in a largely conservative society where members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life, although they note that things have improved greatly in recent years.