Kenya: It’s a Tough Life for Little-Understood Intersex People

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09/30/2021

Few choices would be harder to make than coming round to accept that you are neither male nor female. Add to this the fact not much is known in the Kenyan society about the intersex people, who have both male or female features. The dilemma is even more pronounced for parents and caregivers, who are at a loss on whether to give an intersex baby a male or female name. With time, however, the male or female characteristics start gaining prominence, allowing one to go for a gender identity that suits the body changes. Nevertheless, it is a tough life for the intersex people in Kenya. An intersex person is one who was born with sex characteristics – including genitals, gonads and chromosomal patterns – that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Kenya officially has 1,524 recorded intersex persons, with Nairobi having the largest number at 245, followed by Kiambu (135) and Nakuru (95). Kisii County has 38, Mombasa 30 and Wajir 49.

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