Over a long period of time, people born with intersex have been facing it rough in the Country. Many face discrimination and an uphill task in getting admitted to schools. Many don’t finish school, dropping out due to the stigma associated with their sex.
They have not even been able to get birth certificates and other vital documents, such as national Identity cards because the boxes provided for gender only cite male and female. But has anyone addressed their problem?
Well, Kenya might soon have a third gender introduced into its laws if an experts’ report on intersex issues is adopted.
The report issued on Thursday cites the right to equality and equal protection of the law.
It cites problems and discrimination faced by intersex persons and makes a list of recommendations.
The report by a range of experts says about 300 cases of intersex persons have been documented, though the number is believed to be much higher.
An intersex person is an individual born with both male and female sex organs in a range of physical conditions. Sometimes they are also known as hermaphrodites.
If the state adopts the report, it would mean there will be a new third gender called Intersex with the marker of the letter ‘I’ in addition to already recognised genders of female and male.
The report examines issues of education curriculum in primary, secondary and tertiary education, with the aim of recognising intersex people.
It recommends specific training in the syllabus and training modules on sex development and categories including biology, anatomy, life skills, anthropology, criminology and theology, among others.