Two Buddhist brides wed in Taiwan
By Alexis Lai, CNN
updated 1:23 PM EDT, Mon August 13, 2012
(CNN) -- Two women in veils and voluminous white gowns kneel in front of a statue of the Buddha, exchanging vows and prayer beads to the languorous intonations of Buddhist chants.
This unconventional ceremony on Saturday was the first same-sex Buddhist wedding held in Taiwan, where a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage has been pending since 2003.
No countries in Asia have legalized same-sex marriages so far, although there have been signs of progress in some -- most recently in Vietnam and Nepal.
Huang Mei-yu said she and her partner of seven years, Yu Ya-ting, decided to hold a Buddhist wedding to acknowledge their own faith, as well the predominant religion of the nation, according to the Taipei Times newspaper. They hoped the ceremony, which was performed by a renowned Buddhist master, would encourage Taiwanese society to accept same-sex marriage.
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