First same-sex couple marries on Curaçao

Two women will marry each other on Saturday on Curaçao for the first time. On July 12, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples in Aruba and Curaçao can marry with immediate effect.

Since the ruling, at least eight other couples have gotten engaged in Curaçao. In Aruba, it will take a little longer as the registry office will not have room for new couples to marry until October.

On December 6, 2022, the Joint Court of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint-Maarten, Bonaire, Sint-Eustatius, and Saba had already ruled that same-sex couples should be able to marry in Aruba and Curaçao. The governments of the two islands lodged an appeal in cassation against this. However, the Supreme Court upheld this ruling two weeks ago.

The Supreme Court's verdict was received differently in the two countries. In Aruba, about half are in favor and the other half against, says Egmar Irausquin. He is secretary of the Fundacion Orguyo Aruba foundation, which has campaigned for legalizing same-sex marriage. According to Irausquin, a member of parliament is working on a bill for a referendum to reverse this.

Many Arubans with a religious background do not agree with the introduction of same-sex marriage, Irausquin explained. There is also a group that is angry because they believe the judge has overruled parliament. "But the negative reactions are decreasing. Maybe they will flare up again when people get married in October."

Janice Tjon Sien Kie from the Human Rights Caribbean Foundation, which campaigns for same-sex marriage in Curaçao, reports that the ruling has had a "mixed" reception in Curaçao. There, too, it was mainly people and political parties with a religious background who spoke out against the Supreme Court's decision.

A company that had been asked to engrave the champagne glasses for the wedding on Saturday refused because it was a wedding with two brides. However, another party has since been found, says Tjon Sien Kie. She reveals that the process of acceptance is going "step by step" and that the main focus of her foundation is to educate people about the queer community, for example, with a day dedicated to transgender people.