December 11, 20205 yr From Channel News Asia THIMPHU: Bhutan’s Parliament has voted to decriminalise same-sex relations, amending an existing law that penalised what it deemed “unnatural sex". The amendment was approved Thursday (Dec 10) by 63 out of 69 lawmakers, with six abstaining from voting. The amendment now needs to be approved by Bhutan's king to become law. The amendment changes two articles of the criminal code to clarify that “homosexuality between adults shall not be considered unnatural sex". The penalty for engaging in prohibited sexual conduct is up to a year in prison. "I haven’t stopped smiling since yesterday. I am eagerly awaiting His Majesty’s assent,” said Tashi Tsheten, a Bhutanese activist who has worked to change the law. He said the amendment means LGBTIQ people in Bhutan will be able to lead a better and more dignified life after facing stigma and discrimination for so long. Bhutan is a tiny landlocked country with a population of 770,000 people located in the southern foothills of the Himalayan mountains, sandwiched between China to the north and India to the south.
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