A task force constituted by Attorney General in May 2017 to look into the affairs of intersex persons has launched nationwide data collection that will record the number of people with the biological condition.
An intersex person is one whose sex characteristics are not exclusively defined as male or female.
Chair of the Taskforce Mbage Ng'ang'a said findings and recommendations of the report will be submitted by October this year.
Membership of the task force was drawn from various institutions including Kenya Law Reform Commission, KNCHR, office of the AG and Department of Justice, National Gender and Equality Commission and the Directorate of Immigration and registration of persons.
Its mandate will be to compile comprehensive data regarding the number, distribution and challenges of intersection persons, recommend comprehensive reforms to safeguard the interests of intersection persons among others.
Read:
To ensure comprehensiveness and inclusivity in the process,
Ng'ang'a urged all stakeholders: the intersex persons, their families, the various caregivers, medics, government
actors and members of the public to share their views and participate in the data collection process.
The chair cited stigmatization and wrong gender reassignment, difficulties in registration and legal limitations as some of the challenges being faced by intersex persons.
It is estimated that between 1.7 and 3.0 percent of the global population is intersex.
Consequently, this group could be approximated to be at a population of 1.4 million persons in Kenya.
However Ng'ang'a said the exact number cannot be established owing to inadequate research.
Also read;