[First published on August 2, 2024 in YouthKiAwaaz]
Imane Khelif was born and brought up as a woman in a country that prioritises male children. She was assigned female at birth, has a functioning uterus and has never thought of herself as anything but female. She also suffers from DSD (disorder of sexual development) because of which she has an XY chromosome and her testosterone levels are higher than for an average female. None of this, however, takes away the fact that she is female.
Khelif has been participating in international boxing competitions for several years (including the Tokyo Olympics where she didn’t go beyond the quarter finals).
She failed an unspecified “gender test” at the World Championships in 2023, which she appealed against. The results of the test were never made public, and she later withdrew her appeal because the Association which conducted the test was suspended for irregularities.
Khelif has been allowed to in the Paris Olympics as a woman because she met their eligibility criteria.
Angela Carini knew all this even before she stepped into the ring. Her bout lasted 46 seconds, during which time she left herself open and was punched on the nose twice.
Khelif was clearly the better boxer and it is unlikely Carini would have survived the bout even if the punches thrown at her were weaker. But she chose to react emotionally and imply that she lost not because Khelif had the better technique, but because Khelif had more strength than one would expect from a woman. And the internet was quick to pick it up.
What followed was nothing short of a witch hunt.
Khelif was branded a man, he/ him pronouns were consistently used to describe her and people brought up images of men inflicting violence on women to polarise the public. Posts were written on how women trained for years only to have their match snatched away by “a man”. But didn’t Khelif herself also train for years to get to the Olympics? Did any of those people screaming about “unfairness” think about how unfair it is to indulge in personal attacks on the basis of one statement made by an emotional loser?
Calling Khelif a “cheat”, as many have done, is not right. Even if it turns out that her testosterone levels are higher than what is allowed by the rules, it doesn’t make her a cheat, because to be called a cheat you should have intentionally done something. Khelif didn’t take anything to increase her testosterone levels. It is the biology that she was born with, and if anything she has got cheated out of her right to compete in a sport which she has trained hard for.
The attacks continued even after the IOC issued a statement in her favour
Even after the IOC issued a statement in favour of Khelif’s participation as a woman in the Paris Olympics, people continue to question how she could be allowed to participate as a woman against other women. This, despite the fact that experts have explained that gender is a continuum and that women suffering from DSD could have higher testosterone levels, and still be considered women.
Boxers who have competed against Khelif in the past have said that she punches harder than most. But none of them have questioned her gender. Yet, the witch hunt continues, without any thought being given to the trauma that it might cause Khelif.
Has anyone spared a thought to what this trial on social media might do to Khelif?
The insinuation that Khelif has always lied about her gender doesn’t make sense? She is from a country where male children are prized and prioritised. Why would her parents have brought her up as a woman, unless they genuinely believed that she is one? There are photographs of Khelif as a young girl- are people insinuating that her parents perpetrated a hoax for decades only to enable their child to compete in the Olympics as a woman?
More importantly, Khelif is from a country where transgender persons are not recognised, and gender change is illegal. Do the people who are deliberately misgendering her even realise that they are making her vulnerable to violence from fundamentalists? Worldwide, transgender women are more vulnerable to attack than cis women. By raising questions about her gender in this manner, Khelif is being put at risk deliberately.
While people on social media are full of sympathy for Carini (who according to them was cheated out of a medal by a man), do they pause to think of the emotional trauma they are causing Khelif who spent her entire life as a woman? Do people even realise how wrong it is to link link the Khelif- Carini bout to domestic violence, and how triggering it can be to victims of domestic abuse?
The issue of transgender women in competitive sports is a complicated one
The issue of transgender women in competitive sports is a complicated one, and it has to be dealt with in a manner that is fair to all, and sports federations are doing their best to frame guidelines and refine existing ones. Indulging in mass hysteria merely on the basis of a statement by one defeated athlete doesn’t help. If Carini wanted to lodge a protest, she should have done so in the current manner- through the sports federation/s of her country.
This trial on social media is a sordid chapter in women’s sport, and it is a shame that so many are gleefully participating in it without making an attempt to understand the issue. If a woman who was born woman, brought up as a woman and thinks of herself as a woman is not considered a woman because she doesn’t fit your mental picture of a woman, then the problem is with you and not with her.
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