Through his song “The Code”. Rapper Suess wanted to “break the law” and call for official Swiss recognition of those who, like him, did not identify as men or women.“I hope this competition will continue to encourage peace and dignity for all,” Nemo said at the moment of his victory after he managed to achieve a total of 591 points.
Unlike other countries such as Austria or neighboring Germany, where he currently lives, Switzerland does not recognize the existence of a third gender.
But the question that arises at this moment is: Will Switzerland change its attitude towards non-binary people and recognize the existence of a third gender?
The Minister is open to discussion
Currently, a meeting is scheduled – for which a date has not yet been set – between the young Swiss artist and the current Swiss Minister of Justice, Piet Jans, who responded to the invitation extended by Nemo, during the press conference, on Saturday evening, in Malmö, Sweden, according to Swiss media. . Taking advantage of the international arena, Nemo considered it “completely unacceptable” that a third gender could not be registered in Switzerland, and stated that the situation in the country must change: “We have to change that.”
The challenge was accepted by Swiss Justice Minister Piet Jans, who was “delighted” with Nemo and his “win in the Eurovision Song Contest,” according to the minister's spokeswoman, Catherine Alder. “Minister Pete Jans was pleased with Nemo. “He is very happy that Nemo won Eurovision and sends him his warmest congratulations.”The minister's spokeswoman said, according to the Swiss newspaper 20 minutes. “Minister Jans looks forward to this meeting. We are now looking for a suitable date.”he added.
According to what was reported by the Swiss state television channel rts, Non-binary people have high hopes for Beat JansHe was able to adopt the cantonal law on equality during his term as president of the canton of Basel. The law has been revised to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary and intersex people, an unprecedented move in German Switzerland.
The new Swiss Minister of Justice, Pete Janz, who has been in office since December 2023, It has already promoted the improvement of the situation of people from the LGBTQ+ community at the cantonal level by adopting the law that aims to create a “contemporary gender model” that “rejects the binary – female and male – and heterosexuality”. The report that backed the bill then argued that gender and sexual orientation should be “taken into account in their diversity.”
Is Switzerland not ready?
Although the Swiss Parliament changed the provisions regarding gender registration in civil law, In January 2022, Allowing anyone who is “firmly convinced that he or she does not belong to the sex registered in the civil registry” to change his or her registration, You can only choose between two recognized genders: female and male.
In this regard, The Swiss Federal Council considered two years ago, In a published report on this topic, whichThat Switzerland is not sufficiently prepared to register a third gender in the civil registry and that the principle of dual gender is still deeply rooted in Swiss society. In addition to numerous changes to the constitution and national and cantonal laws that would require abandoning the principle of dualism.
More than two years later, the victory of the young non-binary Swiss woman, a gender not legally recognized in Switzerland, reignited the controversy over the issue that divided the pro-left and conservative right in the Swiss People's Party. (SVP, in its German acronym) and the center-right who oppose the idea of changing the current paradigm on the basis of the principle of dualism.
By winning the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in the Swedish city of Malmo from May 7 to 11, Nemo also became the second Swiss winner, after Canadian singer Celine Dion won the contest in 1988, representing Switzerland. Which prompted the country to begin preparations to host the next edition of the competition in 2025.
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