It was 46 seconds of “strong blows” when Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned her match against Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the women’s 66-kg round of 16 bout in the Paris Olympics on August 1. Carini did not shake Khelif’s hands after the defeat and remarked that she had “never faced such strong blows before”.
This sparked a debate on social media about the eligibility criteria for women’s sports in the Olympics, with many resorting to hateful remarks, transphobic comments, and misinformation about Khelif’s “real gender”. Among her famous critics were some eminent names – JK Rowling, Elon Musk, Barkha Dutt, and Kangana Ranaut – and even some media outlets.
But before that, what really happened? The boxing match was considered controversial by many as Khelif was barred from competing in the women’s world boxing championship in New Delhi in March last year. Khelif had failed the gender test of the International Boxing Association, which did not allow athletes with XY chromosomes or higher levels of testosterone to compete in the women’s game. Notably, the IBA has revealed little about the test and is itself banned from the Olympics since 2019.
Following the social media uproar around Khelif, the International Olympics Committee came to her defence, saying that “all athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry requirements, as well as applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit”.
The IOC also denounced the “misleading” reports about the Algerian boxer, and said that she has been “competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category”. It called the IBA’s March 2023 decision “sudden”, “arbitrary” and “without due process”.
As per the IOC guidelines, an athlete’s gender is determined by their passport.
The latest Olympics guidelines state that “everyone, regardless of their gender identity, expression, and/or sex variations, should be able to participate in sport safely and without prejudice” and that “no athlete should be precluded from competing or excluded from a competition on the exclusive ground of an unverified, alleged, or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variations, physical appearances, and/or transgender status”.
Famous critics, callous critique
Author JK Rowling posted on X that there is “no space for men in women’s sports”. Elon Musk retweeted a similar post of a sports journalist. The Indian social media was also rife with mostly callous remarks.
Journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted that “this is the end of women’s sports as we know it”.
Retweeting information without checking its veracity again - who’s surprised? pic.twitter.com/HrAS8JUgfv
— Sarayu Pani (@sarayupani) August 2, 2024
India Today anchor Nabila Jamal initially claimed that Khelif was “born a man”. She later clarified that “this is incorrect” and that Khelif was born “biological woman but has XY chromosomes and high testosterone levels. Apologies for the misinformation. Khelif has only played by rules. Pointing fingers at her is unfair.”
Normal world would call this abuse
— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) August 1, 2024
Born a man, Algeria's Imane Khelif is allowed to fight Italy’s Angela Carini in 66kg women's boxing prelims at #Olympics2024Paris #AngelaCarini couldn't handle Khelif's opening punches & gave up in mere 45 seconds#ImaneKhelif has already… pic.twitter.com/SMyBoQE85L
The Mad Queen of Bollywood and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut posted on her Instagram story that Khelif was “a 7-ft tall naturally born male” and “looks and behaves like a man”. To drive her argument, Ranaut not only addressed Khelif as “he” but also compared the Olympian to a man who “hits a female in a physical abuse scenario”.
Ranaut’s Instagram story read: “He beat her in the boxing ring like a male hitting a female in a physical abuse scenario…woke culture is the most unfair and unjust practice. Speak up before it's your baby girl whose job or medal is taken away.”
News outlets were also quick to follow suit. A report in CNBC TV18 was titled “Italy’s Angela Carini breaks down after losing against biological man Imane Khelif”. A Times of India report also called Khelif “biological male” in its headline, although within quotes. Free Press Jounal, in a report on the boxer’s semifinal win, used the term “biological male” to refer to her.
Khelif’s next opponent in the quarter final, Hungarian boxer Anna Hamori also shared a “hateful” post on Instagram which purportedly portrayed the Algerian boxer as a demon. The Hungarian Boxing Association also protested her Olympic participation.
Shaky ‘gender test’ criteria
In recent years, scholars, athletes and human rights lawyers have called out sporting bodies’ sex testing criteria for being “invasive, unnecessary, and violative of fundamental rights to privacy and dignity”.
Many of the sex testing criterias have been slammed for allegedly resulting from “racialized gender stereotypes”, mostly incompatible with non-white athletes.
In 2014, Duttee Chand, an Indian woman athlete, was disqualified from the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games for failing the “gender test” due to the naturally elevated testosterone level in her body.
Chand appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against her ban. The court said that there was a lack of evidence that testosterone increased female athletic performance. Subsequently, the International Association of Athletics Federations revoked the ban on Chand and suspended its policy on hyperandrogenism, or high natural levels of testosterone in women. Now, Chand has backed Imane Khelif.
In 2019, South African runner Caster Semenya was blocked from competing at the world championships in Doha due an IAAF rule that barred athletes with Differences in Sexual Development, which for Semenya meant a testosterone level higher than the one determined by the federation.
Under the rule, Semenya would have had to take testosterone-reducing medication for six months before participating. In 2023, Semenya won her case in the European Human Rights court, which stated that the actions of the Athletics federation were discriminatory.
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