Kenya is set to go down into the books of history as the first country in Africa to collect and document data on intersex people, as a third gender, in the country’s upcoming national population census that is scheduled for next month, something which has been termed as a major victory for human rights activists.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, people will be given the options of identifying themselves as either male, female or intersex.
The inclusion of the third gender, at least according to the body mandated to carry out the census exercise in the country, is a result of recommendations from the Intersex Persons Society of Kenya (IPSK).
While welcoming the move by the Kenyan government, Ryan Muiruri, founder of the Intersex Persons Society of Kenya said “Getting information about intersex people in the census will help people understand the challenges we go through. Being included in the census is a big achievement for us”.
The intersex people are individuals who are born with any of the various variations in sex characteristics including gonads, chromosomes, genitals or chromosomes that “do not fit typical definitions for male or female bodies”.
In 2009, a woman went to court after doctors indicated a question mark instead of gender on her child’s birth certificate. She wanted identity documents for her child to be in a position to attend school.
In a landmark ruling in 2014, the High Court gave orders that the government issues a birth certificate to the then five-year-old child. The Kenyan Attorney General was also ordered by the same court to create a task force that will be mandated to look into means by which the intersex children should get better treatment or support.
Kenya will carry out its national population census on August 24th and 25th in a first ever paperless exercise the East African country has ever done as far as population tally is concerned.
