By Craig Lewis
Overlooking the Bhutanese capital Thimphu. Photo by Craig Lewis
The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan last Thursday became the latest Asian nation to overturn legislation criminalizing same-sex relationships. In a joint sitting on 10 December, both houses of Bhutan’s parliamentary National Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of amending legislation that prohibited “unnatural sex,” widely interpreted as homosexuality.
The Lower House of parliament first moved toward making the landmark amendment to officially adopt a more open and accepting attitude to same-sex relationships in June last year. While not specifically mentioning homosexuality, articles 213 and 214 of the Penal Code were widely interpreted as prohibiting gay sex. The amendment changes the two articles to clarify that: “homosexuality between adults shall not be considered unnatural sex.” (