Why in news?

• Tamil Nadu government has recently banned sex normalisation surgeries on intersex children except in life-threatening circumstances.
• This order comes as the second such move made by any State on gender and sexual identity.
• The Parliament of the island of Malta adopted the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act in April 2015.

What is gender, sexual identity and sexual orientation?

• Gender identity is assigned at birth based on the anatomy (male or female sexual organs, both internal and external).
• Sexual identity is what one sees oneself as, and Sexual orientation is the sex a person is attracted.

What does intersex mean?

• Intersex refers to people born with physical and biological characteristics that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions of male or female bodies.
• The intersex condition arises when it is difficult to classify the reproductive organs as male or female.
• Genetically, the male is invested with XY chromosomes and the female, XX. In intersex, there are at least 40 different variations.
• In the field of medical genetics, it is believed that gender assignment is not merely the function of the X and Y chromosomes.
• Rather, hundreds of genes have been identified, mutations or changes in them lead to a ‘different kind of development’, impacting the gender of the foetus.

What is sex-selective surgeries?

• In Intersex infants, not all biological differences can be detected at the time of birth.
• When these differences are apparent at birth, parents are eager to resolve the question of the gender of the baby and pick a gender.
• They are ignorant of the fact that the child will have to pick a sexual identity in the process of growing up.
• This could lead to physical trauma, emotional turmoil and problems arising out of confusion about identity.

What is the government’s order?

• Earlier, the Madurai bench of Madras High Court observed that the consent of the parent cannot be considered the consent of the child.
• The government order specifies that such surgeries can only be performed in case there is a life-threatening situation.
• It would require permission from the committee that includes paediatric surgeons/urologists, endocrinologists, a social worker/intersex activist and a government representative.

What is the way forward?

• A great deal of awareness is necessary even for the medical community to recognise the possibilities of gender ambiguity.
• Parents will have to be counselled well into accepting their children as they are.

Source: The Hindu