The importance of intersex awareness day, marked on the 26th of every October is that, it’s an opportunity to educate the public and raise awareness of intersex persons worldwide. By raising awareness of the experiences of people within the intersex spectrum, we can help people better understand the kinds of challenges that they may face and how we can support and respect them.

In improving the wellbeing of intersex people, it is important to recognize the history and the challenges faced by the community.

In 2021, intersex people are unable to access the necessary healthcare and legal services that bar majority of them from realizing the full potential of their lives within society. Majority do not have identification cards and therefore can not be employed and many of them are still undergoing intersex child mutilation. Despite these issues, there remains a lot of misconceptions, lack of understanding and proper medical and policy protocols to create an well-being enabling environment for them.

It is therefore important to recognize the importance at such a day of those that choose to be visible, bring about change and the milestones achieved in the process.

There are significant advances towards uplifting the plight of intersex people in Kenya that deserve recognition, such as the implementation of recommendations from the taskforce report on intersex persons in Kenya. Many other activities around the country have been undertaken as part of the recommendations and efforts to change the landscape for intersex persons in Kenya. Follow Jinsangu on facebook to learn more.