Intersex is a term used for someone who is born without the typical definitions of female or male anatomy.
While some intersex traits may be visible at birth, others may become apparent later in life.
It's a matter of biology, not sexual orientation or gender identity.
When I was born, it wasn’t clear if I was a girl or a boy.
Growing up as an intersex person in Uganda made my childhood very complicated.
In our culture, being intersex can be considered a curse—something to get rid of.
Some families isolate the child in a house.
Herbalists did everything they could to “cure” me.
I was brought up as “Julia,” but I never felt like I belonged.
However, I was lucky that my family accepted me.
My mother protected me by hiding my identity.
So I had to change schools a lot.
When I was 11, I had to study hard to get a place in an Anglican girls’ boarding school.
My mother thought it would be the safest place for me, but it was a real nightmare.
I was surrounded by only girls, and everything they were, I wasn’t.
I had to hide my true identity.
And to make things worse, I started to like some of the other girls.
I began to realize how different I was.
By the time I was 16, it was obvious I was becoming a man.
My voice and my hair were changing.
I had to leave the school.
I found myself at a crossroads.
I started to get some answers from a doctor about what was happening to me.
But with all the physical changes, I could not go back to being a girl.
I left to study abroad.
When I came back, I was no longer Julia.
At first I pretended to be my “brother,”
but people recognized me as the person who used to be called Julia.
Since then, I have lived as Julius.
One day, my story was leaked to a newspaper in Uganda.
Everybody wanted a piece of me.
They wanted to dissect me.
I was so afraid.
I escaped to South Africa
Years later, I heard about an intersex boy in the Ugandan news,
and I decided to go back home to help him.
I was concerned.
You are taught growing up as an intersex person in Uganda
that your body is no longer your property.
It is to be abused, examined, and tested against your will.
For him and others like him, I faced my fears
in front of a live audience on national TV, and I told my story.
When I was done, the whole room stood up and cheered.
Now I work to educate and counsel people about intersex issues across 50 districts of Uganda.
We work with community midwives to fight the stigma around intersex babies.
I still face harassment and many terrifying moments, but we need to continue our work
so no more children are killed, mutilated, or ostracized.
I want them to know that intersex people don’t have to be "fixed,"
and like me, they can go on to live full and happy lives.
Despite the danger he faces daily, Julius continues to play a public role in fighting for the rights
of LGBTI people and marginalized communities.
He is now happily married with four beautiful children.