Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
ZIMBABWE has identified gaps in the legal recognition and protection of intersex persons, with the Government considering legislative reforms to address discrimination, protect intersex children from harmful medical interventions, and improve data collection on the community.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Permanent Secretary Mrs Vimbai Nyemba said research conducted by the Government exposed shortcomings in the country’s legal and policy framework, despite constitutional guarantees of dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.
Speaking at a side event on advancing intersex rights, recognition, law, policy, and data in Africa on the margins of the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Dakar, Senegal, Mrs Nyemba said Zimbabwe was committed to implementing the commission’s Resolution 552 on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Intersex Persons in Africa.
“Zimbabwe is a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. We take seriously the obligations that come with that status, including the guidance of this Commission through its resolutions,” she said.
“Resolution 552 on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Intersex Persons in Africa is one such guidance, and we regard it as a call to action for every State Party.”
Mrs Nyemba noted that the Constitution, adopted in 2013, provides a strong foundation for protecting human rights, while the Government remains committed to ensuring that no citizen is left behind.
“Our Constitution, adopted in 2013, places dignity, equality and non-discrimination at the centre of our legal order,” she said.
“The Government, under the leadership of His Excellency the President, Dr Mnangagwa, is committed to the national principle of leaving no one and no place behind.”
She said Zimbabwe’s acceptance in 2022 of a recommendation to protect intersex children from harmful practices and violations of bodily integrity marked the beginning of a process to translate international commitments into practical protections.
“When Zimbabwe accepted the recommendation in 2022 to protect intersex children from harmful practices and violations of bodily integrity, we understood that this was only the beginning,” Mrs Nyemba said.
“A commitment made at the international level has to be felt in a clinic, a school, a registry office and a family home.”
The Government has since consulted public institutions, civil society organisations, and members of the intersex community to understand local challenges, while legal research has assessed domestic laws against lived experiences.
“In August this year, the Government convened a national dialogue that brought decision-makers from across Government together, so that the findings can be turned into action,” she said.
Mrs Nyemba outlined four major gaps requiring attention: legal recognition, bodily integrity, discrimination and the absence of procedures, and data collection.
On legal recognition, she explained that intersex persons are not expressly recognised in Zimbabwean law, while procedures for correcting records or changing names generally require medical evidence.
“Many people do not know that this route exists, and practice is not standardised,” she said.
The absence of explicit legal safeguards against non-consensual medical interventions on intersex children remains another key concern.
“There is no explicit legal prohibition of non-consensual medical interventions on intersex children, and no medical management guidelines for practitioners,” Mrs Nyemba said.
“We heard that medically unnecessary and often irreversible interventions are still carried out, driven largely by social expectations rather than medical need.”
Consultations also revealed that intersex persons and their families experienced bullying, school dropouts, barriers to employment, and stigma within health facilities.
