While Nepal has made important strides in recognising LGBTIQ+ rights in the constitution, the “I” – intersex – has remained less visible. While inclusion within the broader LGBTIQ+ umbrella has created important alliances, it has, at times, obscured the specific needs of intersex individuals, whose concerns are too often assumed to be addressed within wider human rights or LGBTIQ+ advocacy spaces. Due to the lack of inclusion of intersex people in National Census data, the exact number of intersex individuals in Nepal is unknown.
Intersex individuals experience stigma and discrimination across families, communities, and state systems. Within families, a lack of awareness can lead to abandonment and violence against intersex individuals, with mothers frequently blamed and subjected to abuse by partners and in-laws. Exclusion is deepened by social inequalities such as caste, gender, and geography. Misconceptions about innate variations in sex characteristics impact the bodily autonomy of intersex people, sometimes leading to harmful medical practices. Intersex individuals’ limited access to accurate information and pressure to hide their realities due to shame and stigma can delay self-acceptance and contribute to mental health challenges. The incorrect conflation of intersex with a “third gender” can make it harder for individuals to openly express their identities.
These barriers are compounded by low levels of awareness among key institutions and stakeholders and ongoing difficulty of maintaining consistent engagement from policymakers across local, provincial, and federal levels. Resource constraints, particularly in the face of global funding cuts, further limit the pace and sustainability of change.
Resistance to change continues to shape how intersex issues are understood, making it difficult to shift harmful narratives. Campaign for Change, an intersex rights organisation in Nepal, work to address these challenges by strengthening advocacy, increasing awareness initiatives, community empowerment, and targeted engagement with policymakers to ensure recognition and protection of intersex individuals.
Amplifying Intersex Rights
Campaign for Change’s goal is to tackle marginalisation, stigmatisation, exclusion from education and development opportunities, and discrimination within families and communities, while amplifying intersex voices and ensuring bodily autonomy. Given that these challenges exist at multiple levels, Campaign for Change adopted a combination of community-based awareness and evidence-based advocacy approaches in their AmplifyChange project.
Campaign for Change focused their project on four main areas:
- Awareness raising on intersex issues through community dialogues, sensitisation sessions, cluster meetings, media engagement, and positive parenting sessions.
- Capacity building programmes for the intersex community, focusing on advocacy, leadership, mental health and wellbeing, communication and coordination, and organizational development.
- Advocacy and policy engagement at local, regional, and international levels.
- Knowledge building through the development of communications and educational materials and research to increase understanding of intersex issues and centre intersex voices to shape the narrative.
Based on prior experience, these approaches have proven effective in strengthening and sustaining the intersex movement. Together, they achieve positive change at both the community and policy levels, contributing to the protection, promotion, and advancement of the human rights of intersex individuals in Nepal and beyond.
A Path Toward Progress
Before receiving support from AmplifyChange, resources were limited and work was largely confined to the Kathmandu Valley. With AmplifyChange’s support, Campaign for Change has been able to expand its reach across multiple provinces and engage intersex individuals in leadership roles.
Through training in advocacy, leadership, and communication, 30 participants developed a stronger understanding of their rights and gained the confidence to express themselves. Safe spaces and peer discussions have helped individuals overcome fear and build a sense of belonging, and over time, many have begun speaking in community dialogues and representing intersex voices in local advocacy forums.
As Manisha, an intersex woman reached by the project, explains,
Before connecting with Campaign for Change, I felt alone and confused about who I was. My family didn’t understand my situation, and I was often blamed and silenced. I didn’t have the confidence to speak about my identity, even with close friends. After joining team building and communication workshop, I have become more confident and vocal on intersex issues. Now I am working as a field officer at Karnali Province leading several sensitisation programs with various stakeholders at community levels as well as providing peer counselling to intersex individuals and family members.
Intersex individuals themselves are becoming more confident and visible in advocacy spaces, supported by stronger connections and a sense of solidarity within the community. At the same time, relationships with government actors have deepened, creating space for closer collaboration and the inclusion of intersex issues in local planning and programmes. As Nabin, an intersex man who participated in Campaign for Change’s trainings, reflects,
Previously, I used to feel reluctant to communicate with government stakeholders. After participating in communication and leadership training, I have started working more effectively with local governments. I am also leading the loose network formulated of sexual and gender minorities at municipal level and furthermore, working closely in collaboration with local government by ensuring inclusion of intersex in local government plans and programs. I feel stronger, more confident, and proud of who I am.
Over time, the work of Campaign for Change shifted both perceptions and possibilities for intersex people in Nepal. There is a gradual increase in understanding of intersex issues among communities and stakeholders, alongside more accurate and respectful narratives.
Securing Rights for All
Campaign for Change has also led sustained, behind-the-scenes advocacy in national and international policy spaces. Through continued engagement with UN mechanisms, they advanced intersex issues that have been reflected in recommendations to the Government of Nepal and in key frameworks such as the National Child Policy 2080 and Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Child Protection and Child Rights Directives 2080. Campaign for Change are advocating to develop a mechanism to include ‘intersex’ in the National Census to have updated and accurate data on the number of intersex individuals in the country.
Campaign for Change also partnered with other Nepalese advocates to contribute to a CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) shadow report. They delivered an oral statement during the CEDAW session in Geneva in February 2025, and their demands were included in observations made by the Committee to the Nepal government. They demanded:
- An enactment on a legislative ban on unnecessary surgeries on intersex girls and women including children.
- Anti-discrimination laws protecting intersex persons and LBT women in essential health services, education, employment, and welfare schemes.
- An update the definition of “single women” to include LBTI women, ensuring they can access the single women allowance.
- Amended laws and policies to secure the rights of LBTI women in property inheritance, citizenship, and spousal rights, and redefine marriage to include inclusive and gender-friendly language, enhancing legal recognition and ensuring marriage equality.
- Revision to the census methodology to capture the full diversity data of sexual and gender minorities accurately.
Since then, the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens Nepal has developed a roadmap for implementation, which includes the recommendations provided by Campaign for Change.
Lasting Change
Today, Campaign for Change are actively raising awareness, supporting their peers, and contributing to a growing movement, demonstrating how access to knowledge and capacity-building can transform silence into leadership and empowerment.
Campaign for Change is building on this progress to further strengthen advocacy efforts for inclusive policies at the state level. The organisation plans to expand awareness programmes to reach more communities, particularly in underserved areas, helping to reduce stigma and discrimination while supporting the identification and inclusion of more intersex individuals.
Campaign for Change will continue to support intersex individuals through ongoing capacity development and community-building efforts. With the appointment of new members of Nepal’s parliament in March 2026, many of whom are younger and have a stronger understanding of diversity and inclusion, there is a growing opportunity to advance intersex rights further. Campaign for Change plans to actively engage with these policymakers while continuing to strengthen partnerships with government bodies and civil society, ensuring that the momentum built translates into lasting, meaningful change.
