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

 | 
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.

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 03/28/2024
03/27/2024
Nine men were sentenced to death by a Houthi court in Yemen in a mass trial based on “dubious” charges of sodomy, a human …
Added on: 03/28/2024
03/27/2024
Thailand is set to become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognise equal marriage after politicians passed a same-sex marriage bill. The lower house of …
Added on: 03/28/2024
03/27/2024
In what looks like a deliberate bid to redirect intense public scrutiny away from grave allegations implicating her in a seemingly multibillion-shilling corruption scandal, …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 03/28/2024
In what looks like a deliberate bid to redirect intense public scrutiny away from grave allegations implicating her in a seemingly multibillion-shilling corruption scandal, …
Added on: 03/28/2024
WASHINGTON | The U.S. National Security Council met with Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist Frank Mugisha on Monday, according to a spokesperson who reaffirmed America’s …
Added on: 03/23/2024
American homophobe and extremist Ayo Kimathi is in Uganda to promote hate against the LGBTQI+ community in support of the Anti- Homosexuality Act (AHA) …