Thailand’s military government has backed a bill that would make the country the first in Asia to recognise same-sex civil partnerships.
The civil partnership bill is likely to require approval from Thailand’s new parliament after the country’s general election in February. Some activists opposed the bill due to limitations in the rights it would offer, while others welcomed it as a step towards marriage equality.
“It’s a big moment,” Nada Chaiyajit, 39, an activist and law graduate who was consulted by the government for the draft, told the Guardian. “They [ministers] have studied the UK and other countries and seen that the first step is civil unions. I’m confident that within five years they’ll put [full] marriage equality on the agenda.”
If the bill is passed, members of same-sex civil partnerships in Thailand will gain greater property, inheritance and succession rights. They will also gain the right to give consent regarding medical decisions if their partner gets seriously ill. Read more