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"id": 939591,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Kasanga",
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"legal_name": "Sylvia Mueni Kasanga",
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"content": "Nelson Mandela said- \"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived; it is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.\" Sen. Mwaura, the journey you have described, walking through with persons who are intersex, right from the last Parliament to this Parliament, and the strides that you have achieved for them is, indeed, of great significance. For that, God bless you. Madam Temporary Speaker, I have now interacted with stigma when working on the issues of mental health. There is nothing more difficult or more painful for a human being than to live in the shadow of stigma because of something that is not within your control. Like the intersex, nobody chooses where they are born, how they are born, what they look like, whether they have a big eye or a short leg, you name it. This falls in the same category. We are all human beings as Sen. Orengo has said. We have a beautiful Constitution in this country that recognizes the Bill of Rights and the fundamental freedoms of every human being. As I said, one time, we tend to live in a bubble. As long as I am okay, my children and parents are okay, then the world is okay. We lack the empathy and refuse to see beyond the bubble.What Sen. Mwaura has done here today by bringing this Bill, is bring the information and the knowledge that we need so that we can look beyond our bubble; that bubble, which we wish every human being could look beyond and make this world a better place. I did not know much about intersex persons. It has taken a breakfast meeting with Sen. Mwaura, the Intersex Community, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) amongst others, for me to understand what these persons go through. Also just to understand the stigma around them that they are not normal. I realised that I have been interacting with them every day and I just did not realize it. It also made me understand the challenges they go through as intersex, that they cannot get the registration that they so deserve. This is actually heartbreaking. I want to thank you, Sen. Mwaura, for bringing this Bill today, for teaching us what intersex is and for making us understand the challenges they go through. I also want to agree with you, Sen. Mwaura. You have said that this platform, Parliament, in as much as we can be castigated for all the wrong things, some of the best things also happen here because when would have these people gained a voice? Thank you for speaking for them; the disabled and the minorities. I agree with you that it is in this House that we make a difference. I am sure this Bill will definitely pass this House and the next. Already what you have achieved for the intersex persons by having them counted in the census is most commendable. The very essence of our being is what we are discussing here. You have been born in a certain way and you should be recognized that way. True enough, many of them do not need to go through an expensive surgery to determine whether they are male or female. They can live normal lives as they are. At birth, that they can be recognized as intersex is a beautiful thing. Thank you for changing the definition of sex to include the intersex. Later in life, they can decide The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}