N AT I O N A L I N Q U I R Y R E P O R T ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION For Human Dignity Challenges and Issues Faced by Special Interest Groups 4.4 Intersex Persons Intersex persons are not recognised at law in Zimbabwe103. National documents are categorised into the conventional female and male sex categories without provision for intersex persons. Parents determine the sex of intersex children (sometimes with advice from health personnel) at an early age before the children are old enough to identify themselves as either male or female. The law does not accommodate intersex persons who wish to change their sex on their identity documents as their bodies transform at puberty. Marginalisation in school activities such as sports. 4.5 Persons with Disabilities Image 8 Participation of persons with Disabilities at the NI public hearings Out of seven thousand five hundred and forty-four (7544) submissions received, two hundred and thirtyseven (237) were from PWD104 who constituted three point one per cent (3.1%) of the total submissions.105 Infrastructure at the DRG’s offices is not user-friendly for persons using wheel chairs as there are no ramps or rails. There are no sign language interpreters at the DRG’s offices thus hindering access to documentation for those with hearing impairments. Inaccessibility of the DRG’s offices leads to costly transport expenditure as transporters charge extra fees for wheelchairs. 103 Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Being intersex relates to biological sex characteristics, and is distinct from a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Available at https://www.unfe.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/UNFE-Intersex.pdf accessed on 4/12/19. 104 Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities104 defines “Persons with disabilities to include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Although Section 81 (1) (b) of the Constitution provides the right for children to the prompt provision of a birth certificate, children with disabilities have challenges in accessing BCs. 105 See Chapter 2 on limitations for explanation of the low submissions received from PWDs. 35 35