On August 1, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif achieved a victory at the Paris Olympics by knocking out Italian opponent Angela Carini in just 46 seconds during the women’s 66 kg boxing category. This is Khelif’s second time competing in the Olympics. She first represented Algeria at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics held in 2021.
In her match against Angela Carini, Khelif’s victory was swift and decisive. The match, which could last up to nine minutes over three rounds, ended in just 46 seconds after Khelif landed two strong punches. Carini, who suffered a nose injury that started bleeding, could not continue and conceded the match. Carini, visibly upset, collapsed to her knees and cried in the ring, not shaking hands with Khelif, who advanced to the quarterfinals, reported Indian Express.
Carini explained her decision to stop the match saying, “I have a big pain in my nose and I said, ‘Stop.’ It’s better to avoid keeping going. My nose started dripping with blood from the first hit. I got into the ring to fight. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much, and so I said enough. I’m going out with my head held high.”
A little about Imane Khelif’s background and her boxing career:
Imane Khelif, 25, is from Tiaret, a rural village in Algeria. Despite her father’s disapproval, she pursued boxing and began training at the age of 19. Her determination and talent quickly became evident. Khelif is now a UNICEF ambassador, sharing her journey and inspiring others.
Her early career saw her placed 17th at the 2018 World Championships and 19th at the 2019 Women’s World Boxing Championships. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she reached the quarterfinals but was defeated by Ireland’s Kellie Harrington. Khelif’s breakthrough came in 2022, when she won gold at the African Championships and the Mediterranean Games and claimed silver at the Women’s World Boxing Championships, losing to Amy Broadhurst. She continued her success by winning gold at the 2023 Arab Games.
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However, Khelif’s career has been marked by gender controversy. At the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships, she was disqualified just before the gold medal match due to gender eligibility issues, reported NDTV.
The Algerian Olympic Committee initially cited medical reasons for her disqualification, but it was later revealed that high levels of testosterone were the cause.
International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev mentioned that DNA testing showed Khelif had XY chromosomes (the male chromosome), which led to her exclusion from the competition.
Endocrinologist Gianluca Amaretti suggested that Khelif might have a rare congenital condition causing a disorder of sexual differentiation.
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On July 31, 2024, the IBA clarified that Khelif and others did not undergo a testosterone test but a different, confidential test, which indicated they had a competitive advantage over other female athletes. Despite these issues, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Khelif and another boxer who failed the gender eligibility tests for the World Boxing Championships to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Khelif’s participation in the Olympics has also sparked a wave of online backlash, with some falsely claiming she is transgender or a man.
Notable public figures like J.K. Rowling, Richard Dawkins, and Elon Musk criticized Khelif and the IOC on social media, inaccurately labelling her as a man. In Algeria, gender transition is illegal, adding further complexity to the situation.
Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024
Absolutely https://t.co/twccUEOW9e
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
The issue of disorders of sexual development (DSD) has been a topic of discussion in sports for years. People with DSD, about 1% of the population, may have ambiguous physical characteristics or chromosomal differences. These conditions can sometimes go unnoticed until puberty or even later until a genetic test is conducted, as in the case of athletes.
According to NBC, the same was the case with South African track star Caster Semenya back in 2009.
Dr Myron Genel, a professor emeritus of paediatrics at Yale University, stated that “Semenya is a female with a birth defect” and that “It’s no different in a sense than a youngster who is born with a hole in the heart.”
On the other hand, there are certain conditions that affect sex development, like ‘Swyer syndrome’, where individuals have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome in each cell, which is the pattern typically found in boys and men. However, they have female reproductive structures, according to studies.
According to a study by The American Society for Clinical Investigation, not all disorders of sexual development (DSDs) offer a competitive advantage to the affected female athletes – and sports governing bodies recognize this. In fact, there’s a startling hypocrisy at play. The study writes:
“Testosterone levels have been used as a determinant of ineligibility for certain competitions and implemented as a metric to disqualify female athletes in women’s sports. Conversely, testosterone levels have not been used as a qualifier for participation in male competitions.”
If Khelif had had a natural advantage over female athletes, she wouldn’t have been defeated by Ireland’s Kellie Harrington in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the Indian sporting landscape itself, sprinter Dutee Chand faced gender verification tests in 2014 after her testosterone levels were found to be higher than typical female ranges.
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The tests led to her being banned from competing, but Chand challenged the decision. In 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in her favour, suspending the regulations that barred her from the competition.
For centuries, sports were dominated by men and seen as a way to build masculinity. When women began joining sports in the late 19th century, society grew anxious, fearing that gender roles were changing. Women were discouraged from sports, with claims that it would harm their health and make them unattractive. Critics worried that athletic women would lose their femininity. As female athletes became stronger and more confident, some people questioned if powerful athletes could truly be women.
There is a strong gender bias being at play here.