A third sex identity: Assessing cultural and structural violence against intersex people in Tanzania

Abstract

This is a study involving intersex people and their lived realities in the communities. The study involved 18 interviews which targeted an intersex person, parents, a religious leader, governmental and non-governmental organisations. Respondents were classified according to their roles in the community and within their institutional levels. This paper aims at highlighting some of the impact intersex people have had on a variety of theories of sex and gender in Tanzania, and examine whether the intersex movement could effectively use legal frameworks developed by African feminist to modify the existing practices that are based on sex and gender systems. Intersex persons do not conform to the society’s fundamental assumptions that there are only two sexes and only two types of normal bodies. My focus on this study is not just to give a voice to intersex people and how they experience intersexuality, but also to highlight how various social and legal structures have provided services in a way that exclude intersex people. It also assessed the views of health professionals and the community at large on medical treatment and management of people with intersex condition. The paper also argues that intersex people should not be grouped in a group of homosexuals, being intersex is about biological make up while being homosexual is about sexual orientation, therefore their issues needs to be addressed differently, their needs cannot be compared to homosexuals. It goes further on advocating for having separate organisations that specifically address the rights of intersex people.