Kenya is the only country in Africa to recognize a third gender and one of a few globally to do so. However, the recognition of a third gender in Kenya is only limited to the intersex.[1] Other countries that legally recognize intersex persons include Brazil, Germany, and Austria.
According to the Kenya Population and Housing Census conducted in 2019, Kenya had a total of 1,524 intersex people.
Definitions of Intersex in Kenya
The term intersex has varying definitions across regions and jurisdictions. In Kenya, the Kenya Law Reform Commission defines an intersex person as one “who has been born with biological characteristics which cannot fit the typical male or female binary.”[2]
According to the Persons Deprived of Liberty Act 2014, an intersex person is one who has been “certified by a competent medical practitioner to have both male and female reproductive organs.”[3]
However, a taskforce report on policy, legal, institutional, and administrative reforms regarding intersex persons in Kenya argues that the latter definition by the Persons Deprived of Liberty Act 2014 is quite narrow and offers a broader meaning.
The task force defined intersex persons as:
A person who is conceived or born with a biological sex characteristic that cannot be exclusively categorised in the common binary of female or male due to their inherent and mixed anatomical, hormonal, gonadal (ovaries and testes) or chromosomal (X and Y) patterns, which could be apparent prior to, at birth, in childhood, puberty or adulthood.[4]
Number of Intersex Persons by County
Following the recognition of the intersex as a third gender in Kenya, the 2019 population census included the intersex as part of the exercise.
Census results found that Kenya had 1,524 intersex persons. The number of males in the country was 23,548,056, while the number of females was 24,014,716. Kenya’s total population in 2019 was 47,564,296.
The county with the highest number of intersex persons was Nairobi, with a total of 245, followed by Kiambu with 135 intersex persons, then Nakuru with 95 intersex persons.
Counties with the lowest number of intersex persons were Tana River with 2, Lamu with 4, Taita Taveta, Tharaka Nithi, and Samburu with 7.
The table below shows the number of intersex persons in Kenya by county from the highest to the lowest.
|
County |
Number of Intersex Persons |
|
245 |
|
|
135 |
|
|
95 |
|
|
49 |
|
|
41 |
|
|
40 |
|
|
38 |
|
|
38 |
|
|
37 |
|
|
35 |
|
|
35 |
|
|
34 |
|
|
34 |
|
|
33 |
|
|
31 |
|
|
31 |
|
|
31 |
|
|
30 |
|
|
28 |
|
|
28 |
|
|
28 |
|
|
28 |
|
|
26 |
|
|
25 |
|
|
24 |
|
|
23 |
|
|
23 |
|
|
23 |
|
|
22 |
|
|
21 |
|
|
20 |
|
|
20 |
|
|
18 |
|
|
18 |
|
|
18 |
|
|
18 |
|
|
15 |
|
|
13 |
|
|
13 |
|
|
12 |
|
|
12 |
|
|
9 |
|
|
7 |
|
|
7 |
|
|
7 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
2 |
See Also
References
[1] Equaldex (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Third gender legally recognized” [dataset]. Equaldex, “Equaldex" [original data]. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/third-gender-recognition-equaldex
[2] Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC). Taskforce on Policy, Legal, Institutional and Administrative Reforms regarding Intersex Persons in Kenya.
[3] The Persons Deprived of Liberty Act, eKLR. Chapter 90 A. Revised 2022.
[4] Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice (2018). Report on the Taskforce on Policy, Legal, Institutional, and Administrative Reforms Regarding Intersex Persons in Kenya.
