Semarang, Central Java. A 15-year-old who has struggled to be recognized as a boy for years can officially do so now, having undergone intensive examinations at Dr. Karyadi Hospital in Semarang.
The hospital concluded on Thursday that Maemunah, who is listed as a girl in his birth certificate, has the requisite sexual organs to prove he is indeed a boy, and there no longer needs to be any confusion over the matter.
Maemunah’s case became public recently after census takers were confused as to how to list gender of the young resident of Banyumas, Central Java. Maemunah insisted when questioned by census takers that he was a boy, even though he is listed as a girl on the birth certificate.
Dr. Ardy Santosa, a urologist at Karyadi Hospital, confirmed that although official hospital examination results had yet to be released, he could safely conclude that Maemunah, alias Mei Purnomo, is indeed male.
“We still have to wait for the results of chromosome testing, but I can safely conclude that Mei is male. He has a penis,” Dr. Ardy told the Jakarta Globe.
Maemunah underwent tests at Karyadi Hospital to find out whether he has Klinefelter’s syndrome, which causes male genitalia to develop late.
Klinefelter’s syndrome, according to Indra G Mansur, a University of Indonesia andrologist, is a chromosomal disorder affecting males that causes them to look like females.
Maemunah underwent a series of medical examinations, including ultrasonography and chromosome testing.
“He definitely has a penis and we are also checking his testicular function. We will check the levels of the hormone testosterone to explore whether Mei’s sperm can fertilize ova or not,” Ardy said.
He said preliminary examinations showed that Maemunah suffered from partial androgen insensitivity syndrome. PAIS is a rare inherited condition in which babies biologically intended to be boys fail to show full normal male development because their bodies are unable to respond normally to male hormones, otherwise known as androgens — these are the chemical signals secreted into the blood by the testes, which are responsible for all the physical and psychological features of maleness.
Ardy said Maemunah’s penis was deformed and he needed surgery, which would be difficult because of his age.
“I wish the case had been identified at an earlier stage so the child could be operated on at the age of 1 or 2,” Ardy said.
“If the surgery succeeds and Mei receives full male status, the hospital is willing to provide letters of recommendation so that Mei can get his gender status changed legally in court.”
Dr. Paulus A Gozalli of Margono Soekardjo Hospital in Banyumas said Maemunah could not be categorized as a hermaphrodite.
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