GENEVA, Sept 10 (Bernama-dpa) — The Swiss government wants to abolish the “divorced” civil status, it announced on Thursday, backing an initiative by liberal lawmaker Nadine Gobet.
Gobet, of the liberal Free Democratic Party, had objected to the fact that divorced people must state on forms that they are divorced, even years later.
Parliament must now decide on the matter and, if approved, set in motion the necessary legislative amendments, reported German news agency dpa.
Gobet had argued that the designation was superfluous because divorce was a legal matter that had been settled.
Requiring someone to describe themselves as “divorced” for evermore meant that a private event was being “perpetuated administratively,” she said.
Gobet suggested that divorced people should revert to the “single” category on official forms.
–BERNAMA-dpa