Intersex persons demand third sex marker on official documents

For the first time in Zimbabwe's history, intersex persons have taken the government to court, demanding legal recognition of their rights and protection from decades of systemic exclusion.

The High Court case, filed under number HCH4743/25, seeks a declaratory order compelling the state to recognise intersex people as a distinct category under Zimbabwean law. Among the applicants' demands are the introduction of a third sex marker on official documents, procedures to amend sex markers, and a ban on non-consensual, non-essential surgeries on intersex minors. They also want guarantees of access to dignity, education, healthcare, and equality under the Constitution.

Seven individuals are listed as applicants, including two minors who were denied access to education and social services because of mismatched identity documents. Another applicant, now an adult, was subjected to irreversible surgery in childhood, leaving them with lifelong health complications and documents that do not reflect their lived identity. The minors are represented by their legal guardians.

The Health Law and Policy Consortium (HLPC) and the Intersex Community of Zimbabwe (ICoZ) have joined the application as institutional applicants. Respondents in the matter include the Registrar-General, the Ministers of Home Affairs, Health and Justice, as well as the Attorney General.

In his founding affidavit, HLPC board chairperson Tinashe Mundawarara argued that the failure to issue accurate identity documents violates constitutional rights. "Section 81 (1)(c) specifically guarantees every child the right to a birth certificate. By failing to ensure that intersex children are issued birth certificates that reflect their unique biological reality, the respondents deny them a fundamental right and create barriers to accessing essential services such as healthcare and education," he said.

HLPC programs coordinator Dorcas Chitiyo said the case seeks to correct long-standing injustices. "This case seeks to address the systematic legal and administrative failures that have perpetuated exclusion, discrimination and harm against intersex persons in Zimbabwe," she said.

ICoZ director Kudakwashe Murisa described the application as a turning point. "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," they said.

Murisa emphasised that the matter extends beyond individual hardships. "This case is not just about one individual. It is about an entire community that has been made invisible for too long. It is about ensuring that no intersex child will endure what so many others have suffered in silence."

Speaking personally, Murisa outlined the day-to-day struggles intersex people face with mismatched documents. "Being intersex, I have to explain myself each time I want to use my identity documents. This is because they don't match with the sex I was assigned at birth."

The matter is yet to be set down for hearing.