Intersex Bill to be Tabled in Parliament
The intersex Community now says they will present an Intersex Bill in parliament for their rights to be recognized.
According to a representative from Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Elijah Kandie, the bill will ensure that the rights of intersex are protected.
“The objective of the Bill is to provide for the recognition, protection, and safeguarding of intersex persons, to provide for the equalization of opportunities, affirmative action and non-discrimination of intersex persons.”
People who are intersex have genitals, chromosomes, or reproductive organs that don’t fit into a male or female sex binary.
“They face challenges such as recognition, especially in birth certificates, their treatment expensive due to hormonal changes and their identification is also hard since it’s not easy to identify if a person is male or female,” he added.
Their genitals might not match their reproductive organs, or they may have traits of both. Being intersex may be evident at birth, in childhood, or later in adulthood.
Eunice Adhiambo from the Eldoret prison noted that when intersex criminals are brought to prison, they are often sent back to the court to decide what they will do and they are often given non-custodial sentences.
“Most prisons have no facilities set aside for intersex persons, we are urging the government to build separate rooms for these people because this might make them feel comfortable though they might feel discriminated by other people.” she said
A medical specialist who was also present at the event has said that children born with two sexes should be taken to a specialist doctor so that he or she can determine whether the child will need surgery or not.
” Intersex people may face discrimination, infanticide, abandonment, and stigmatization from their families and also following the discovery of intersex traits at stages of development such as puberty.”
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