By Doris Obinna
The Center for Healthcare Development and Youth Development (Intersex Nigeria) converged recently in Ikeja, Lagos to mark the Intersex Awareness Day (IAD). Intersex Nigeria is a non-governmental organisation that promotes the visibility and supports for the well-being and rights of intersex people in Nigeria.
Intersex is an umbrella term for people born with sex traits that do not fit binary medical definitions of male or female sexual or reproductive anatomy. According to the group, intersex populations are born with these differences in sex traits or may develop them during puberty or later in adulthood.
IAD is celebrated globally every October 26 to promote dignity, visibility, and equal rights for the millions of people born with variations in sex characteristics.
Explaining the essence of IAD, executive director and founder, Intersex Nigeria, Obioma Chukwuike, said it is all about making visible the challenges and issues of intersex, especially in Nigeria, and the world.
According to Chukwuike, the Intersex Nigeria was founded on November 25, 2019, and is in contact with over 70 intersex centers across the states, and still growing.
Speaking on the challenges faced by the group, Chukwuike disclosed that intersex genital mutilation is one of the greatest challenges intersex people are facing.
Chukwuike said: “When an intersex child is born and their sex cannot be classified, which is a unique feature, in this case, you see parents and doctors conducting an unnecessary surgery, which could lead to harm and damage like blockage of reproductive system and also there can be paralyzation of the body.
“There can also be track of the wrong sex of the body. There has been cases where genital mutilation surgery was conducted on intersex persons and when they grow up, the sex they were given at birth was not conforming with sex that was given as they are growing up.
“For instance, a child that has virgina when fully grown, they discovered that she has beards and is flat chest and all that.
“So, as we commemorate the awareness day, we advised that the intersex children when born should be allowed to get to the age where they can determine and decide for themselves their sexes, say at least18-years of age whereby they would have understood their body better.
“They can now decide on their own to go for surgery, and as a parent, you can support them. Doing it at birth is a very harmful practice and also a threat and human violation of human body autonomy and self determination.
“Another challenge is that there is no recognition. The Intersex persons are not recognised. Some people know it as hermaphrodite but that’s a derogatory word for them. Nobody talk about them: Intersex persons have no database. In most hospitals, there are no databases, people give birth to intersex children but there is no proper record and intersex children are given birth to every day, research has shown that.
“There is discrimination and stigmatisation against them. Intersexes in families are kept secret. Parents of intersex children don’t want people to know they gave birth to Intersex children. And they isolate these children and make the child feel that something is wrong with them, when it is just nature, which is not even harmful.
“Except in rare cases that such child may need medical care to be able to develop properly, but other than that, intersex persons are natural people that have variations other than what the medical professional would classify as male and female.
“Again, there is a lot of bulling against intersex persons. You find out that there is no appropriate information even in the school curriculums.
“There are no policies that protect intersex persons. There is nothing that gives them hope of living as human beings.
“We look forward to policies that would protect these people, such policy that would ban intersex genital mutilation and instead, recognise them. These are some of the things we want the government to do for us.
“We need proper sensitisation. Even the National Identity Management Board should be sensitised about this so that they can help. There are intersex persons all over the world. In Africa, we have over 20 intersex organisations in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe and some other countries.”
In commemoration the day, the group produced a documentary titled, “In-between sexes,” premiered at the event. A panel discussion was also held, with the topic, “Making visible the rights and challenges of intersex persons in Nigeria.”
In the documentary, ‘In-between sexes’ is a story that shares the experiences of intersex persons in Nigeria, the secrecy, discrimination, and stigma. This groundbreaking documentary reveals the unconventional lives of intersex individuals in Nigeria, the challenges and navigating life as an intersex person living in Nigeria.
Following the documentary screening, a panel discussion was held that talked about the invisibility, stigma, and discrimination many intersex Nigerians face.
The panelists discussed the toll risk of being submitted to harmful practices on intersex people such as intersex genital mutilation practices, i.e. non-consensual, medically unnecessary, irreversible, cosmetic genital surgeries, and/or other harmful medical treatments that would not be considered for “normal” children, practiced without evidence of benefit for the children concerned, but justified by societal and cultural prejudice, stereotypes, norms and beliefs, and often directly financed by the states.
Intersex genital mutilation include “feminising” or “masculinising,” “corrective” genital surgery, sterilising procedures, imposition of hormones (including prenatal “therapy”), forced genital exams, vaginal dilations, medical display, human experimentation, selective (late term) abortion and denial of needed health care, causing known lifelong severe physical and mental pain and suffering.
Finally, the panelists highlighted the strength and resilience of Intersex Nigeria’s recent progress in their community advocacy and stakeholder’s engagements and calls on the Nigerian government and relevant agencies to see to recognition and protection of intersex people’s rights.