Thailand joins Nepal and Taiwan as the only Asian nations to legalise LGBT unions, amid repressive regimes and religious traditions

A high-profile gay couple married in Thailand on Thursday as the kingdom's same-sex marriage law went into effect, an AFP journalist saw, among the first of hundreds expected to do so.

Hundreds of same-sex couples are tying the knot across Thailand on Thursday as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.

The landmark enactment makes Thailand the first in Southeast Asia and third in Asia (after Taiwan and Nepal) to legalize same-sex marriages.

Thailand’s landmark marriage equality bill was officially written into law on Sept. 24, after it was endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Hundreds of people began registering their marriages at a mall in Bangkok, as Thailand became one of the few places in Asia to legalize same-sex unions.

It is a day many in Thailand's LGBTQ+ community have long been waiting for, as couples celebrate a law giving them the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.

Weddings took place across the country, including at a Bangkok mall, as same-sex marriage became legal. Thailand is one of the few places in Asia where it’s allowed.

One of today's biggest events is happening at a luxury mall in central Bangkok, where more than 100 couples are getting married Edited by Aparna Alluri in Bangkok and Yvette Tan in Singapore with reporting from Jonathan Head,

It was a historic day in Thailand as hundreds of LGBTQ couples became legally married. It’s the first nation in Southeast Asia to guarantee equal marital rights for same-sex couples. Patpicha Tanakasempipat attended the mass marriage registration event.