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

On Thursday, Joe and Mate will tie the knot in central Bangkok, joining roughly 200 couples in a joyful mass-wedding that marks a seismic shift in Thailand. After decades of campaigning and countless setbacks, the country is becoming the first in southeast Asia – and only the second in Asia after Taiwan – to introduce full marriage equality.

LGBTQ+ couples and activists have gathered in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, to celebrate ahead of the country’s first same-sex weddings on Thursday (23 January). Last June, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise gay marriage.

International pressure is mounting on Thailand – including from the new US administration – over the fate of dozens of Uyghur men held in detention for more than a decade, following reports the Thai government planned to deport the group to China.

United Nations (UN) experts have urged Thailand not to deport 48 Uyghurs to China and to treat people deprived of their liberty more humanely.

The family was detained in Thailand in 2014 after fleeing increasing repression in their hometown in China's Xinjiang province. She and the children were allowed to leave Thailand a year later. But her husband remained in detention,