Being intersex is normal, says Zimbabwean intersex and trans activist

Tatenda Ngwaru, a Zimbabwean intersex and trans activist, has shared experiences of her days in Zimbabwe as an intersex woman.

Tatenda Ngwaru (Zimbabwean intersex & trans activist)

In a 3-minute educative video put together by ‘The Roots’ an afrocentric online magazine, Ngwaru briefly explained the true facts about being intersex and also shared her story about her struggles growing up as an intersex child as well as her experiences while  working as an intersex and trans activist in Zimbabwe.

In the short video, Ngwaru revealed that intersex persons in Zimbabwe experience discrimination due to ignorance on intersex issues.

“Growing up in Zimbabwe was really hard as an intersex child because in Zimbabwe it is called a taboo. Some people are even ignorant enough to say you are the one that caused us not to have rain because you are an abomination to the culture. She said.

Ngwaru also said that her hardest experience ever was being raised as a boy when she knew all along that she is a woman.

“I knew that I was a girl, and I was raised as a boy for 10-years of my life, which was the most hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.

She further revealed that whilst working as an activist in Zimbabwe, she had many challenges and one of it was being accused of bringing western cultures and ideas into people’s heads. This she described as an ignorant way of talking about intersex issues.

“It is a biological issue, it’s not western, it’s not African, it is normal” she said.

Ngwaru ran the first intersex and trans organization in Zimbabwe for 4-years after which she sought asylum in the U.S where she now currently works as a Grants Management Associate with Astrea Lesbian Foundation for Justice; a U.S-based not-for-profit 

Watch the video below.

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