Lesbian couple wedding - We are witnessing history’

Asia is always a controversial place to discuss being gay – let alone discuss LGBT rights – and Taiwan is no different. However, the country recently had its first same-sex Buddhist marriage that took place in a monastery in the city of Taoyuan, despite the fact that Taiwan still does not legally recognise them. Fish Huang (Huang Mei-yu) and her partner You Ya-ting, both aged 30, wore traditional white bridal gowns for the Buddhist ceremony, but instead of rings they exchanged prayer beads in front of 300 Buddhist chanting sutras.
Shih Chao-hui, the female Buddhist master who performed the ritual said it was an historic moment and could be a sign that Taiwan, one of East Asia’s most westernised and most liberal countries, could be one of the continent’s first to move forward and recognise LGBT rights, especially when it comes to marriage. ‘We are witnessing history’, said Shih who is a well-known advocate for social justice, ‘the two women are willing to stand out and fight for their fate, to overcome social discrimination.’ Although many family and friends turned out to support the couple and celebrate, their parents were notably absent from the ceremony, although they had said they were going to attend.
Huang said: ‘We understand that people have different acceptance of media exposure and we want to give them more space. We hope with the master’s support, the wedding will change many people’s perspective even though it is not legally binding and that the government can legalise same-sex marriage soon.’
Huang and You were not the first lesbian couple to tie the knot in Taiwan; in 2011, around 80 lesbian couples did so in Taiwan’s biggest same-sex wedding party which attracted over 1,000 friends, relatives and other guests. In 2003, Taiwan’s cabinet drafted a controversial bill to legalise same-sex marriage and allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt, but it failed. A new bill was drafted earlier this year in hopes that the current president Ma Ying-jeou will push for legislation before his term ends in 2016. Ma has said that public consensus was needed before the government can do anything.

http://sosogay.co.uk/2012/lesbian-couple-wed-in-first-same-sex-buddhist-ceremony/