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FILE PHOTO: Thai LGBT community participates in Gay Freedom Day Parade in Bangkok, Thailand November 29, 2018.
Thailand Moves One Step Closer to Marriage Equality
Thailand’s House of Representatives approved a bill aiming to secure legal recognition of same-sex marriages, a historic first in Southeast Asia. It passed with overwhelming support: 400 votes in favor and 10 against. The bill will ensure all couples equal rights under the law in key areas like marital tax savings, property inheritance, medical rights, and child adoption.
Thailand is known for being one of the few safe havens for the LGBTQ+ community on a continent with historically restrictive laws. Thai law lagged public opinion, with polls showing as many as 96.6% of respondents supporting same-sex marriage legalization. The country is known internationally for its thriving, public social scene, as well as by many media watchers for their hugely popular queer “Boy Love (BL)” dramas and RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff.
Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party capitalized on this gap between policy and public opinion. The opposition Move Forward Party – fueled by a progressive wave of young voters – campaigned on the issue during their most recent election cycle. Move Forward won the most seats in parliament but was shut out after Pheu Thai struck a deal with conservative and military-aligned parties.
Many assumed a continuation of the status quo was imminent. Voting on same-sex marriage legislation was a low-risk, high-reward move for Pheu Thai that would appease progressives angered by the sidelining of Move Forward and draw positive international attention without any pushback from their base.
The bill still requires approval from the Senate and an endorsement from the king. Thailand will then follow only Taiwan and Nepal (kind of) as countries that allow same-sex unions in Asia.People walk next to damaged trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, in Acapulco, Mexico, on Oct. 29, 2023.
Hard Numbers: Otis death toll mounts, Taiwanese march for marriage equality, illegal Indian migrants in the US, South Africa’s rugby win, Sweden proves No. 1
43: The death toll in Acapulco following Hurricane Otis now stands at 43. Another five were killed in nearby Coyuca de Benitez, and dozens of people remain missing. Authorities say more than 220,000 homes and 80% of the hotel sector have been damaged, while more than 513,000 people have lost power.
180,000: An estimated 180,000 people marched on Saturday in a Taipei Pride march – East Asia’s largest – including the country’s leading presidential candidate. The most senior government official to ever attend, Vice President Lai Ching-te declared, "Equal marriage is not the end — it's the starting point for diversity. I will stand steadfast on this path."
42,000: Approximately 42,000 migrants from India crossed the southern US border illegally between October 2022 and September 2023, according to data compiled by the US Customs and Border Protection. That’s more than double the previous record number from the same period a year earlier. An additional 1,600 have crossed illegally from the northern border, four times the number who crossed in the last three years combined.
4: In what was described as an epic, rainy seesaw of a match, South Africa won its fourth consecutive world rugby title, beating New Zealand 12-11. No team has ever won four titles, making South Africa’s Springboks the undisputed rulers of rugby.
1: Let’s move to Sweden! In a ranking of 87 countries by cost of living, Numbeo ranked Sweden number one for affordability, safety, and overall quality of life. The cost of living in Sweden is, on average, 20.9% lower than in the United States, while renting is 57.5% lower.
Supporters of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party celebrate initial poll results of Gujarat state assembly election.
What We're Watching: India's election kick-off, US House passes Respect for Marriage Act, Iranian protester hanged
India’s general election kick-off
Two state elections in India have delivered mixed results for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pulled out all the stops to bolster his party in what’s widely seen as a kickoff to the 2024 general election. In the PM’s home state of Gujarat – where Modi served as the top elected official for 13 years – his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party deepened its grip on the state, reaping more than 85% of seats in the state assembly. (Modi is accused of turning a blind eye to brutal inter-ethnic riots there in 2002 that led to more than 1,000 deaths, mostly Muslims killed by Hindu vigilantes.) Meanwhile, in northern Himachal Pradesh, the incumbent BJP lost to the main opposition National Congress Party, which has struggled on the national stage in recent years. What’s more, despite a big push to maintain its 15-year grip on the city of Delhi, Modi’s party also lost a key election in the capital to the Aam Admi Party, established in 2012 on an anti-corruption platform. Still, with these races kicking off the country’s run-up to 2024, Modi is clearly the dominant political force in India: He has a staggeringly high approval rating of 77% and has overseen a booming economy that’s on track to become the world’s third largest by 2030.
Marriage finally gets some respect in the US
Same-sex and interracial couples in the US no longer need to worry about the government — or the courts — breaking up their marriages. On Thursday, the US House in a 258-169 vote passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which mandates federal recognition for those unions. Thirty-nine Republicans joined the entire Democratic caucus in supporting the bill, which includes an amendment permitting religious organizations to refuse services to marriages they don’t agree with. That amendment was added in the Senate last month in order to address Republican concerns about religious freedom. The bill requires states to recognize same-sex marriage licenses issued legally in other states, but it allows states to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses of their own. The Supreme Court’s controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this year raised fears that the conservative-dominated bench might move to overturn similar privacy-based rights to interracial or same-sex marriage as well. This bill, which now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature, makes that impossible.
Iran sends message by hanging protester
In yet another sign that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not serious about reform, the regime on Thursday conducted the first known execution of a person for participating in nationwide protests that have brought the country to a standstill for almost three months. After a sham trial, Mohsen Shekari, 23, was sentenced to death for allegedly blocking a road in Tehran back in September and attacking a member of the Basij paramilitary – a ruthless volunteer force that operates under the draconian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – with a machete. Shekari was convicted of “waging war against God,” which carries the death penalty in Iran. While it is impossible to know exactly how many Iranians have been arrested since the in-custody death of Mahsa Amini sparked the demonstrations, that number is believed to be well into the thousands. Some analysts say that while the regime has been trying to show restraint (by its standards) in responding to the ongoing protests, this development is a sign that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is now willing to take off the gloves completely to scare protesters into submission. But are the gray-bearded mullahs underestimating the dogged determination of Iranian women? TIME sure seems to think so.