Online Reporter
Talent Gore
FOR years, the intersex community of Zimbabweans — people who were born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female — have struggled to obtain basic identity documents and access essential services.
This lack of recognition has left many living in silence, unable to fully participate in society.
Without birth certificates, identity cards or passports, access to education, healthcare and formal employment becomes nearly impossible.
The intersex community has filed a first-of-its-kind constitutional challenge in the High Court, demanding that the Government formally recognises and protects their rights under the supreme law. They want a third sex marker introduced on birth certificates, IDs, and passports, as well as clear procedures for amending or correcting existing documents. The respondents are the Registrar General, the Ministers of Home Affairs, Health, and Justice, and the Attorney General.
One of the applicants, who underwent irreversible surgery at the age of 15, now endures lifelong health complications and social exclusion.
Speaking at a media forum in Harare yesterday, Intersex Community of Zimbabwe official, Kudakwashe Murisa, said the challenges faced by the intersex community were longstanding and had kept them on the margins of national development.
“This case is historic. For the first time, the Zimbabwean legal system is being challenged to recognise the rights of intersex individuals as equal human beings under the constitution,” he said.“This case is not just about one individual. It is about an entire community that has been made invisible for too long.”
The Health Law and Policy Consortium (HLPC) echoed this view, saying the absence of legal recognition and protection had rendered intersex people invisible and exposed them to discrimination and exclusion.
Health Law and Policy Consortium board chair Tinashe Mundawarara, in parts of their founding affidavit, stated that the lack of legal safeguards for intersex children violates Section 52 of the Constitution, which guarantees bodily and psychological integrity.
“The failure of the Respondents to recognise intersex children as a distinct group and to provide mechanisms for issuing accurate identity documents violates the best interests of the child principle enshrined in Section 81 of the Constitution,” Mundawarara said.
“The failure of the Respondents to recognise intersex persons as a distinct group and to provide mechanisms for issuing accurate identity documents violates Section 35 of the Constitution.
“This section guarantees every Zimbabwean citizen the right to accurate identity documents, including birth certificates, national IDs, and passports. The current binary categorisation of male and female excludes intersex persons, perpetuating systemic marginalisation and discrimination.”
HLPC director, Dorcas Chitiyo, said the situation violated constitutional rights adding that her organisation had filed an appeal at the High Court seeking legal recognition, registration and civil documentation for intersex individuals.
If successful, the case could set a precedent for how the state recognises intersex citizens and may influence similar policies in the region,” she said.
