Thailand has moved closer to legalizing same-sex civil unions.

The country's cabinet has approved a bill that would make it the first Asian nation to recognize such unions. It now awaits approval by Thai parliament, in a vote that will most likely occur sometime after the general election in February, due to a legislative backlog making it unlikely to be voted on until then, Asia Times reports.

Participants rally to advocate gay rights in Bangkok on November 29, 2018.

While many in the LGBTQ community are celebrating the news, some wish it would go further in establishing equal rights.

"The bill is still lacking many crucial rights that need to be provided to the LGBTI community," Wannapong Yodmuang, a human rights researcher at the Manushya Foundation and transgender activist, said. "The center of this law basically just allows two same-sex people to have a partnership that allows them to manage property together...But the thing is that it’s still lacking many different rights."

Yodmuang noted that same-sex couples would still be unable to adopt, for example.

Additionally, Henry Koh, an LGBTI activist and human rights specialist with Fortify Rights, says the bill still doesn't allow for same-sex couples to use surrogates, make critical healthcare decisions for their partner, or take their partner’s last name.

Yet he called the Civil Partnership Bill "a great leap in the right direction towards recognizing same-sex unions in Thailand."

While some progress has been made socially, there remains stigma against the community, especially against transgender individuals, who are unable to legally change their gender markers on government documents, leading to issues of discrimination in travel, the workplace, and elsewhere.