# Obioma Chukwuike

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{{Short description|Nigerian intersex human-rights activist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name            = Obioma Chukwuike
| image           =
| caption         = Obioma Chukwuike in 2025
| citizenship     =[Nigerian](/source/Nigerian)
| education       = [Enugu State University of Science and Technology](/source/Enugu_State_University_of_Science_and_Technology), [Federal University of Technology](/source/Federal_University_of_Technology_Owerri)
| occupation      = [Human rights activist](/source/Human_rights_activist)
| known_for       = Intersex rights advocacy in Nigeria
| organisation    = Intersex Nigeria
}}

'''Obioma Chukwuike''' is a Nigerian [intersex](/source/intersex) and [non-binary](/source/non-binary) [human rights activist](/source/human_rights_activist) and community organiser.<ref name="OHCHR2024">{{cite web |title=Big victory for intersex people and their rights |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2024/04/big-victory-intersex-people-and-their-rights |website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |publisher=United Nations |date=April 2024 |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="HBF2022">{{cite web |title=Stories of Feminist Mobilisation: How to Advance Feminist Movement Worldwide |url=https://www.boell.de/en/2022/12/12/stories-feminist-mobilisation-how-advance-feminist-movement-worldwide |website=Heinrich Böll Foundation |date=12 December 2022 |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref> They are the founder and executive director of Intersex Nigeria, the country's first organisation dedicated to advancing the rights, visibility, and wellbeing of intersex people.<ref name="IntersexNigeriaFirst">{{cite web |title=25 November 2019 — Founding of Intersex Nigeria |url=https://transintersexhistory.africa/25-november-2019-founding-of-intersex-nigeria/ |website=Trans & Intersex History Africa |date=25 November 2019 |access-date=21 October 2025 |quote=Intersex Nigeria was founded by Obioma Chukwuike in response to the critical need for dedicated support, advocacy and visibility for intersex persons in Nigeria.}}</ref> Chukwuike is known for advocating against non-consensual medical interventions, promoting bodily autonomy, and pushing for the inclusion of intersex persons in national health and policy frameworks.<ref name="IntersexGreece">{{cite web |title=Anyone can be Born Intersex: A Photo-Portrait Story by Intersex-Nigeria |url=https://intersexgreece.org.gr/en/2021/09/18/intersex-nigeria-in-global-family/ |website=Intersex Greece |date=18 September 2021 |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="MamaCash">{{cite web |title=Meet: Intersex Nigeria |url=https://www.mamacash.org/resources/meet-intersex-nigeria/ |publisher=Mama Cash |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref>

== Education ==
Chukwuike graduated from the [Enugu State University of Science and Technology](/source/Enugu_State_University_of_Science_and_Technology) with a bachelor's degree in Geography and Meteorology in 2013, and obtained a Master of Science in Environmental Technology from the [Federal University of Technology, Owerri](/source/Federal_University_of_Technology_Owerri).<ref name="ELC">{{cite web |title=Obioma Chukwuike |url=https://europeanlesbianconference.org/speakers/chukwuike-obioma/ |publisher=European Lesbian Conference |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref>

== Activism and career ==
Chukwuike leads Intersex Nigeria, a national organisation that promotes awareness, community-building, policy advocacy, and access to healthcare for intersex people.<ref name="OHCHR2024" /><ref name="IntersexGreece" /><ref name="BusinessDayIntersex">{{Cite news |title=Government urged to stop discrimination against intersex people |url=https://businessday.ng/brands-advertising/article/government-urged-to-stop-discrimination-against-intersex-people/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|newspaper=[BusinessDay](/source/BusinessDay_(Nigeria))|access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="OutrightIntersex">{{cite web |title=Embracing the Realities of Sex Development: Challenges and Achievements of Intersex Activism in Nigeria |url=https://outrightinternational.org/insights/embracing-realities-sex-development-challenges-and-achievements-intersex-activism-nigeria |website=Outright International |date=27 October 2022 |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref>

In 2023, they led Intersex Nigeria's participation in the [United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review](/source/United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council_Universal_Periodic_Review) Pre-Session, marking the first time intersex rights were formally addressed at that level by a Nigerian organisation.<ref name="UPRInfoStatement">{{cite web |title=Statement at the UPR Pre-Session on the Human Rights Situation of LGBTQI Persons in Nigeria |url=https://upr-info.org/sites/default/files/country-document/2023-11/Statement_Nigerian_LGBTQI_Coalition.pdf |website=UPR Info |date=November 2023 |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref>

Chukwuike has spoken extensively on the invisibility of intersex people in national [sexual and reproductive health](/source/sexual_and_reproductive_health) policies, legal and political exclusion, and the continued [social marginalisation](/source/social_marginalisation) and non-consensual medical interventions of intersex children and adults in Nigeria.<ref name="MamaCash" /><ref name="BusinessDayIntersex" /><ref name="OutrightIntersex" /><ref name="AITIntersex">{{cite news |title=Intersex Community Demands Urgent Reform In Healthcare System |url=https://ait.live/intersex-community-demands-urgent-reform-in-healthcare-system/ |work=AIT LIVE |date=April 2025 |access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="Vanguard">{{cite news |title=Intersex community seeks inclusion, tasks FG on recognition, protection of rights |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/11/intersex-community-seeks-inclusion-tasks-fg-on-recognition-protection-of-rights/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|date=November 2022 |access-date=21 October 2025|newspaper=[Vanguard](/source/Vanguard_(Nigeria))}}</ref>

== Advocacy and public positions ==
Chukwuike argues that binary conceptions of sex have resulted in systemic discrimination, exclusion from [healthcare](/source/Health_care) systems, and violations of the bodily autonomy of intersex persons in Nigeria. They continue to call for:
* Inclusion of intersex people in national policy frameworks and health systems;<ref name="MamaCash" /><ref name="AITIntersex" /><ref name="IntersexGreece" /><ref name="OutrightIntersex" /><ref name="Vanguard" />
* The prohibition of non-consensual medical interventions on intersex infants and minors;<ref name="MamaCash" /><ref name="AITIntersex" /><ref name="IntersexGreece" /><ref name="OutrightIntersex" /><ref name="Vanguard" />
* Implementation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Resolution 552 on the protection of intersex persons.<ref name="MamaCash" /><ref name="AITIntersex" /><ref name="IntersexGreece" /><ref name="OutrightIntersex" /><ref name="Vanguard" />

== Personal life ==
Chukwuike identifies as an intersex and non-binary person, using the pronouns they/them.<ref name="HBF2022" /> Their lived experience informs their advocacy, recognising that intersex persons in Nigeria face unique medical, social, and legal challenges, including stigma, secrecy, non-consensual surgical interventions, and lack of legal recognition.<ref name="Vanguard" /><ref name="AITIntersex" />

== See also ==
* [Intersex human rights](/source/Intersex_human_rights)
* [LGBT rights in Nigeria](/source/LGBT_rights_in_Nigeria)
* [Universal Periodic Review](/source/Universal_Periodic_Review)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://intersexnigeria.org Official website – Intersex Nigeria]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chukwuike, Obioma}}
Category:Intersex people
Category:Intersex rights activists
Category:Nigerian human rights activists
Category:Nigerian non-binary people
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Nigerian LGBTQ people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Obioma Chukwuike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obioma_Chukwuike) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obioma_Chukwuike?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.