Intersex Asia Letter to Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu Government, India

Re: Addressing longstanding Intersex Human Rights Issues

Honorable Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Chief Minister

Government of Tamil Nadu

Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai,

Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009

July 25, 2019

Dear Mr. Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami,

We, Intersex Asia, applaud the strong commitment delivered by Dr. C. Vijaya Baskar, the honorable Minister for Health and Family Welfare of Tamil Nadu government on 17^th July 2019 at State Legislative Assembly, that the government of Tamil Nadu will be drafting guidelines for intersex surgeries in consultation with multiple stakeholders and experts.   

Intersex Asia is a regional network for intersex people representing the diverse region of Asia, working together to end discrimination, promoting and protecting the human rights of intersex people.

As you assume leadership in Council of Ministers of the Tamil Nadu government, we are writing to draw your attention to this key human rights challenge facing by intersex people in the state that we hope your government will address as a priority.

Prohibition of Sex-Selective Surgeries on Intersex infants/children

In recent months, the Hon’ble High Court of Madras delivered a momentous judgment banning the practice of Sex-Selective Surgeries on Intersex infants/children, directing the Tamil Nadu government to pass a ‘Government Order’ (G.O.) to ensure the prohibition of such surgeries.

Intersex children often received unwanted medical intervention on their bodies without their full consent, and that unnecessary surgery has proven to produce a tremendous impact on their lives and mental health. 

We encourage you to respect and implement the verdict made by the court immediately to ban medically unnecessary “normalizing” surgeries on intersex infants and children and to further improve the healthcare for those intersex children and adults with decent medical conditions and other basic services. 

Adoption of Inclusive and Explicit Policies to Safeguard Rights of Intersex Persons

Our understanding is that many medical professionals and genetic scientists from your state and across India recognize that this situation is untenable, and underscore significance to strengthen the legal and policy framework regarding rights of intersex children. During the policy briefing meeting organized by Srishti Madurai, a local intersex group together with Intersex Asia on 5th July 2019, 14 medical experts, genetic scientist as well as government officials have indicated their shared commitment to assist the government in drafting the guidelines for intersex surgeries and treatments.

We hope that the guidelines adopted by your government are drafted with full consultation with local intersex communities, medical professionals and genetic scientist, in alignment with the judgment of the Madras High Court which highlighted the constitutional rights of intersex infants/children, and in line with the international human rights standards that underscore the protection of the informed consent rights of infants and children born with intersex traits.

With a total of population of 81.5 million living in the state of Tamil Nadu, the adoption of explicit policies that prohibit unnecessary medical intervention on intersex persons can not only save lots of lives of intersex people, it will also spread awareness on issues related to intersex rights, and address stigmatization and discrimination facing intersex people from birth, or discovery of their intersex traits. Moreover, it will make tremendous impacts on entire India and the other Asian countries with a great example. 

We pledge our full support to your government in drafting the guidelines with a hope that the guidelines become a model for the entire country to follow. If accepted nationally, India will be the third country and region in the world after Malta and Taiwan to have a legal protection regime for intersex persons.

Sincerely,

Hiker Chiu & Esan Regmi,

Co-chairs of Intersex Asia

Experts at 1st ever State Policy Briefing Meeting on Intersex Human Rights Issues with Government of Tamil Nadu jointly organized by Intersex Asia