Intersex people in Kenya face significant human rights violations, starting from birth. There are few protections from mutilation and non-consensual cosmetic medical interventions and no legislative protection from discrimination. Intersex persons may have difficulties in obtaining birth certificates and others forms of documentation.
History
Traditionally, children who are identified as having an intersex condition at birth were killed. This is beginning to change, according to midwives and birth attendants' organizations. Surviving intersex children may have difficulties in obtaining birth certificates and other forms of identification.
In December 2017, African intersex activists published a statement setting out local demands.
In August 2018, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights published a report calling for research and legal reform to protect the rights of intersex persons in Kenya.
Physical integrity and bodily autonomy
Reports suggest that the birth of an intersex infant can be regarded as a curse or bad omen, resulting in infanticide. Seline Okiki, chairperson of the organization of birth attendants, Ten Beloved Sisters, has described how babies born intersex are traditionally killed following birth.
In 2015, it was reported that an intersex adolescent from Malindi, Muhadh Ishmael, was mutilated and later died in hospital. He had previously been described as a curse on his family.
In October 2018, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported that some intersex people have been forced to undergo genital surgeries and, in "some cases the procedures were botched resulting in death".
In the same year, two major national reports were published on the situation of intersex people in Kenya: a report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and a report of a Taskforce on Policy, Legal, Institutional and Administrative Reforms regarding Intersex Persons in Kenya. Both reports called for reform to protect the bodily integrity of intersex persons, and action to tackle stigma.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights called for the convening of an intersex health working group, establishing national guidelines for medical practices, and multi-disciplinary teams, and direct doctors to "advise all parents to withhold “normalizing” surgery until children are at an age when they can make a decision for themselves", investigate infanticide and child abuse, research the impact of intersex medical interventions, and fund access to consented medical treatment.
The Taskforce stated that "Surgical and hormonal interventions for children in relation to their intersex status should only be carried out in case of medical emergency based on informed consent". It recommended that the government provide: "protection against involuntary and inappropriate medical intervention and ensure effective remedy" develop guidelines, and promote access to healthcare, including through a treatment fund and prenatal counselling.
Protection from discrimination
Intersex people are considered to suffer significant stigma. A Kenyan news report suggests high rates of early school leaving, with the organisation Gama Africa reporting that 60% of 132 known intersex people had dropped out of school "because of the harassment and treatment they received from their peers and their teachers". Anecdotal reports point to high levels of suicidality amongst intersex people.
In the 2010 case of Richard Muasya v. the Hon. Attorney General, Muasya had been convicted of robbery with violence. The case examined whether or not he had suffered discrimination as a result of being born intersex. He was found to have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment while in prison.
Intersex people in Kenya do not currently have protections from discrimination, but the rights of intersex people are currently a matter of discussion, including through a Taskforce led by nominated MP Isaac Mwaura. In part, this followed a landmark court case decided in 2014, of a child who could not commence school without a birth certificate.