Thailand's Move Forward prioritises marriage equality as Bangkok makes WorldPride 2028 push
Thailand's Prime Minister-in-waiting Pita Limjaroenrat has vowed to drive through an equal marriage act if he can form a government, as Bangkok announced a bid to host WorldPride in 2028 in a capital with strong claims to being Asia's most open city.
Thailand has one of Asia's most visible LGBTQ communities, an image of tolerance which pulls in millions of foreign tourists each year. But the law has not kept up with the social attitudes of many Thais, with the same-sex marriage bill failing to pass the last parliament.
Pita, leader of the Move Forward Party that won the most seats in a May 14 election, says the law is a priority of the eight-party coalition he leads, if it is allowed to take government in coming weeks.
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Taiwan is the only other Asian territory to have passed a marriage equality law, while a Japanese court ruled on Tuesday that not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, a decision activists said was a step towards marriage equality.
Speaking on Monday at the launch of Bangkok's WorldPride 2028 bid, surrounded by drag queens and accompanied by a soundtrack of the Village People's YMCA, the telegenic 42-year-old Pita said: "I don't see this as Pride month ... but it's Pride always."
"Hosting WorldPride is not just about economy and tourism but raising awareness that everyone's dignity, rights and freedoms must be equal," he said, adding that Bangkok was seeking to follow Sydney, Washington DC and Amsterdam as hosts of the mammoth event.
Pita said a pact agreed with coalition partners commits any government led by Move Forward to pushing two draft bills relating to gender equality - including same-sex marriage and a gender identity law - which would allow Thais to officially identify for the first time by their non-birth sex and names.
"All of this we're preparing to push before WorldPride, to show to everyone that acceptance of diversity is the strength of this country."
Pita's party won the votes of 14 million Thais with a platform of policies to boost social and economic freedoms in a country run by an army-aligned government for nine years.
That includes driving through the same-sex marriage law, ending mandatory conscription, guaranteeing free speech and taking on the monopolies which make it hard for ordinary Thais to scale up their business ideas.
It was a shock win that pointed to political momentum behind greater freedoms. But there are still many roadblocks before Move Forward can take power. Those include a powerful army-aligned Senate, who can block Pita's progress to office if they refuse to back him and go against the public vote.
Pita also faces a probe driven by conservative political rivals into a media shareholding, which could see him banned from politics.
But Pita mania is yet to be punctured among a younger, more liberal section of Thai society who sense a line between old, reactionary power and a modern, forward-looking society has been drawn.
Last year's celebratory Pride march through the Thai capital was the first official one of its kind since 2006. Activists have said previous events were styled as parades against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, not as the Pride activity exclusive to the global Pride months.
Hailing Bangkok's potential as "the gateway of Asia for diversity", this year's "Pride Sunday" co-organiser Waddao Chumaporn shared a message with the LGBTQ community across the region.
"Hosting Pride this year isn't just for Bangkok it's also to send our support, our backing to our LGBT brothers and sisters all over the world, especially countries with tight controls where our brothers and sisters can't come out," Waddao said. "We want Bangkok to be a safe space for them, where they can travel and be themselves."
The 2023 Pride parade on June 4 is being held in Bangkok's shopping district under the theme "Beyond Gender".
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt expressed his belief in the inevitability of social change.
"In Thailand, society progresses faster than the laws," he told This Week in Asia. "It's not just about LGBTQ but it's about equality for all ... it's a message about the basic facts of life, that we can all live together peacefully."
Additional reporting by Reuters
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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