With the marriage equality movement strengthening in the Far East, most recently signs of progress in Vietnam, the first same-sex Buddhist wedding was held in Taiwan over the weekend.
The two brides wore frothy white gowns and cascading veils as they exchanged prayer beads in front of a Buddha statue during their monastery ceremony on Saturday. According to the Taipei Times, Huang Mei-yu, 30, and her partner of seven years, Yu Ya-ting, 30, decided to hold a Buddhist wedding to acknowledge their own faith, as well the predominant religion of the nation. They hoped the ceremony would encourage Taiwanese society to accept same-sex marriage.
Buddhist master Shih Chao-hui presided over the ceremony. “We are witnessing history,” Shih is quoted by the AFP as saying. “The two women are willing to stand out and fight for their fate… to overcome social discrimination.”
The brides were married in front of 100 guests, but four particular people were noticeably missing—their parents.
While Yu’s parents only learned that their daughter was a lesbian as the wedding planning was underway, Huang’s had been long been aware, yet refused to attend. “My parents have known my sexual orientation for many years, but at first, they couldn’t really accept it,” Huang told the media before the wedding. “So, when we started dating seven years ago, I took her [Ya-ting] home frequently to meet my family and let them know who I was going out with and gradually, they came to accept it.”
“Our parents originally agreed to come to our wedding, but they felt they were not prepared for the media exposure, so they decided not to come,” Huang said.
Following their nuptials, they wrote to President Ma Ying-jeou requesting recognitiion of their commitment.
“Marriage is a basic right, and the Constitution protects the equal rights of each citizen of this country to enjoy equal rights, so there is no reason that same-sex marriage should be excluded form legal recognition,” said Chuang Chiao-ju, a member of the Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy. “Ma calls himself a gay-friendly president so he should use his power to push for the legalization of gay marriage.”
Taiwan was the first Asian country to introduce a bill to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, it has made little progress through the legislature since being drafted in 2003. Last year, marriage equality advocates raised awareness when 80 lesbian couples tied the knot last year during Taiwan’s “Barbie and Barbie’s wedding” in the capital, attracting over 1,000 guests.
Photo: msnbc.com
