| Two remarkable weddings took place in Vietnam |
| Sunday, March 8, 1998 -- The Lao Dong Newspaper reported that two women were wed in Vinh Long province (about 70 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City). Hundreds of people, including friends, family members and a number of curious onlookers attended the ceremony on Saturday to celebrate the marriage of a 30-year-old woman to another woman aged about 20. Local authorities did not know how to react to the marriage. Last year the same newspaper launched a virulent critique of a marriage between two men in Ho Chi Minh City (see below). That lavish ceremony held in a big Saigon hotel, provoked an avalanche of protests from residents. Other homosexual marriages have taken place in Vietnam in discrete ceremonies, but homosexuality remains taboo in the country, although it is not officially illegal
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| Monday, April 7, 1997 -- Reuters reported
that Vietnam's first gay wedding took place in Ho Chi Minh City. The two men celebrated
their union at a local restaurant with over one hundred guests. Some authorities, however,
were not in the mood to congratulate the grooms.
It should be publicly condemned said Nguyen Thi Thuong, vice-director of the city's state-run Consulting Center for Love, Marriage and Families. Public opinion does not support this. The police are reported as saying that no laws exist which would enable them to punish the happy couple. The honeymooners could not be reached for comment. |
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Vietnam: Lesbian marriage broken up by Hanoi |
South China Morning Post Saturday May 23 1998 DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR in Hanoi Government officials have broken up the country's first known lesbian marriage and extracted a promise from the lovers they will never live together. Twenty officials from various Communist Party groups met the couple for three hours at their home in the Mekong Delta town of Vinh Long. They were acting on instructions of the Justice Ministry in Hanoi "to put an end to the marriage", the Thanh Nien newspaper reported. "They would have had no trouble with their relationship if they had not chosen to have a public wedding," a member of the provincial justice department said. Hundreds of people turned out for the early March wedding, while disapproving officials remained on the sidelines unable to stop the celebration because Vietnam's marriage law does not mention same-sex unions. The issue was raised at the most recent session of the National Assembly during debate on amendments to the law. It is unclear what kind of persuasion was used to get the women's agreement or what punishment they could face if they change their minds, but they signed a document promising not to live together, the justice official said. There were many other homosexual women living together in the province but Hong Kim Huong, 30, and Cao Tien Duyen, 23, were the only ones who were married publicly, he said. He said the wedding was an unwelcome challenge to traditional sensibilities and public morality but added: "As long as they don't wed publicly they are left in peace." |