by Marissa Adams, Program Coordinator

interACT is pleased to announce that Banti Jaswal (they/them) has joined the interACT board of directors as the inaugural recipient of the Kimberly Zieselman Award for Young Emerging Intersex Leaders.

Each recipient of this award will be a young intersex person who has demonstrated their dedication to the movement and will be offered a seat on interACT’s board for a year to help develop their leadership capacity and to firmly center intersex youth perspectives in our organizational direction. 

I am a current staff member at interACT and have been involved with the intersex community through peer support and advocacy for ten years. I met Banti at my first InterConnect Support Group summer conference in 2015 (called AIS-DSD Support Group at the time).

By that time, Banti had been involved with intersex advocacy and peer support long before me, and I was immediately inspired and impressed by Banti’s keen young spirit for and engagement in intersex advocacy and peer support. 

When asked for their reflections, Banti said,

“My journey to becoming an advocate began when I was ten years old and attended my first InterConnect Support Group conference. I heard other people’s stories and experiences. The feeling of belonging and respect changed me. At each annual conference after that, I learned more about the diversity of gender identity, my own intersex identity, and the fight for intersex justice.

Over time I have heard many people’s stories and the love, support, and bravery of these people helped me figure myself out during my early teen years. They helped me find words and understand critical things, such as sexuality, and pronouns, understanding my journey as a queer non-binary intersex person, and how to come out to friends. They inspired me to start to tell my own story.” 

Since the young age of 14, Banti has been a leader in intersex youth advocacy. “I came out to my best friend in ninth grade as intersex. After this experience of having her listen and understand I started coming out to more people. Overall I got mixed responses from people which is kind of expected, but I kept speaking out.”

At just 15, Banti spoke at InterConnect’s conference on a panel for young intersex advocates, volunteered to welcome new intersex young people into peer support spaces, served on the board of InterConnect Support, and participated in planning InterConnect’s conference. 

Banti contributed to developing informational resources about the intersex community by sharing their story through a zine in the intersex youth journal YOUth & I.

They also collaborated with other intersex young people on developing some of interACT’s What We Wish brochure series, which tells the public what intersex people wish others in their lives knew.

In addition to their work with interACT, Banti has done the notable work of speaking with and giving presentations to LGBTQI+ organizations, including GLSEN, and PFLAG, which is vital to inform LGBTQI+ organizations about the intersex community. 

Kimberly Zieselman, the award’s namesake, said “I am incredibly touched by this award recognizing emerging young intersex leaders while providing them with a well-deserved seat at the interACT board table. Banti Jaswal is truly a shining example of intersex youth leadership making change and exemplifies the heart of interACT’s mission to support intersex youth voices, autonomy, and well-being.”

As one of the interACT Youth Program’s earliest members, Banti has seen the impact intersex youth advocacy has and acknowledges that,

“Through sharing my story and experience I have been able to build awareness and support of people in the LGBTQIA+ community.

I am really honored to receive this award. It means a lot to me that it is in honor of Kimberly as I respect her advocacy and leadership so much and have appreciated her support throughout my journey as an advocate.”

Intersex young people are an integral part of the intersex movement, and Banti has exemplified that through their work in intersex advocacy and peer support. interACT is grateful for Banti’s years of dedication to intersex advocacy and for being an exceptional member of interACT’s Youth program. We are honored to present Banti with the inaugural recipient of the Kimberly Zieselman Award for Young Emerging Intersex Leaders.