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Do the police have the right to change a married woman's last name? Can a woman claim for a last name change without consent? How did the “tradition” of adopting the husband's surname begin?
A very common practice from past generations that continues to drag on in the present is the adoption of the husband's surname when a woman marries. Previously, when the marital status was changed to "married", the woman kept her father's surname and not her mother's, changing to "de", followed by the husband's first surname.
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This was a mandatory practice imposed by Art. 49 of the Paraguayan Civil Code in 1987, which indicated that a married woman would add her husband's last name to her last name.
With the new times, the custom of adopting the last name is maintained, only that the value stopped having too much social relevance. Articles 10 and 11 of Law 1/92 repealed Article 49 and provided that in no case may the wife's non-use of the marital surname be considered offensive by the husband.
The problem arises when it is assumed that the woman will change her last name and it is pronounced. There are several stories of women who affirm that their identity was changed without their consent when they changed their marital status, agreeing that imposing a change of identity without consulting is machismo.
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The husband's last name is an option, but according to what women who want to refuse, expressly sign that they renounce their married name. Another sign of a subtle macho practice, since by not being mandatory, you are not giving up anything.
The Chamber of Deputies urged at the beginning of this month to eliminate the custom of suppressing the mother's last name in the identity card of a married woman, because it represents a lack of respect and free decision of a person.
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