Kenya:Intersex persons face divorce,unemployment and discrimination!
Rights for the Intersex community in Kenya/Image Courtesy
Intersex is not a curse ,being intersex may be evident at birth ,childhood ,later in adulthood or never .
An Intersex is a person born with a combination of male and female biological traits.
It is a desire of every parent to raise up a child with one gender ,male or female but bringing up an intersex child is like a curse or witchcraft in the African community .
Early history indicates that in some communities intersex children were not given a chance to survive, especially those who were identified as intersex at birth ,it is believed that some societies could drown them in a water basin or throw them in a river then perform a cleansing ritual .
Abdalla Matano born intersex in Msambweni constituency ,Kwale county says intersex people face stigmatization and are discriminated against by society .
“Intersex people lack support from family members ,I went through stigmatization in the hands of my parents ,they abandoned me because they believed that I am not a normal human being ,I faced a lot of challenges ,my parents stopped paying for my school fees when I was in class seven ,so I had to struggle in order to survive ,At times I would spend my nights out in the streets, but I did not give up because I believed that I had equal rights like any other person ,It’s in my struggles that I met Hapa Kenya Organization that supported me up to date,” Said Mr.Matano .
Mr.Matano who is working with Hapa Kenya Organization as a community paralegal officer noted that fundamental rights for the intersex community remains a mystery.
“For example getting support from the security department becomes a challenge because they would normally go by your National identity card and for us our physical appearance does not matter much with names on IDs they are two different things so it is very hard for us to get our rights ,”Claimed Mr.Matano .
Matano is now calling for community sensitization on the basic rights for the intersex community.
The Kenya 2019 census indicated a total of 1,524 intersex persons in Country.
Speaking during religious leaders sensitization meeting on Intersex Persons Bill 2023 at Ukunda Redcross, organized by Kenya Community Support Center under JISRA project- Kenya National Human Rights Commission KNHRC officer also the chief secretariat Intersex persons Taskforce, Veronica Mwangi confirmed the bill will focus on their rights and how the community should embrace the intersex community .
“The Bill is out for Public participation on how intersex persons rights can be implemented and give solutions to the challenges faced by intersex persons to ensure they have equal rights like any other citizens ,”Said Ms.Mwangi .
Intersex persons face high rates of school drop out ,divorce, lack of employment ,lack of proper health care ,religious discrimination ,Lack of National identity cards among others .
Brenda Dosio, Kenya National Human Rights Commission KNHRC coordinator coast region confirms the coastal region has a total of 86 intersex persons as per the 2019 census.
“Mombasa county has 30 ,Kwale county 18, Kilifi county 25 , Lamu 4, Tanariver county 2 and Taita taveta county 7 , census ,I believe this number has grown by now ,so let us show them love, being intersex is not a curse ,the government is working hard to see them have their rights and dignity like any other Kenyan ,”Emphasized Ms Dosio
On his side Mwalimu Rama, working for Kenya Community Support Center kecosce under JISRA project appealed to the religious leaders to be ambassadors in fighting for the rights of intersex persons in the community
“Let the community stop associating intersex children with a curse or witchcraft and deny them their rights ,intersex children are like any other children in the globe ,so community should stop killing them ,lets protect them ,The 2010 constitution protects the right of every citizen so it’s our responsibility to fight for their rights ,like the way people living with disability are recognized let us make intersex children be part of the society,” Said Mr. Rama .
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