Italy: controversy over Imane Khelif
Two women boxers who were disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing the gender tests are being allowed to fight in the Olympics: Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting and Algeria's Imane Khelif, who will compete against the Italian Angela Carini today. Members of Italy's far-right conservative government are now calling it an unfair fight, claiming that Khelif is trans and male.
Punches from the right
La Repubblica clarifies:
“She is a woman, not a man who is hitting a woman. ... As usual athletes are being dragged into controversy by people who want to use them, and politics has many ways of doing this. A boxer who is fully authorised to participate in women's Olympic boxing is turned into a threat to the safety of her opponent, in this case an Italian. It is most unfortunate for Imane Khelif that part of our political spectrum has been waiting in the wings to don their boxing gloves and hit out indiscriminately, blindly, with neither technical nor medical justification. There are rules and if you play by them and fulfill the requirements you are allowed to participate in the Olympics.”
Politically motivated culture war
The debate is being blown up out of all proportion and politically weaponised by certain groups, Polityka warns:
“The obsession - for there is no other word to describe it - about trans athletes is nothing new. There are so many discussions about whether trans athletes should be allowed to compete that one would be forgiven for thinking they are about to take over the world of sport. ... The discussions are not taking place in politically neutral territory. It is already clear that this small minority is being used in the so-called culture wars to destabilise western societies.”
Clear rules needed
In Le Figaro writer Marguerite Stern calls for a clear differentiation between intersexuality and transsexuality:
“The question was already posed with Caster Semenya [intersex multiple Olympic medalist]. ... The issue will resurface in the future and will have to be settled again. Therefore I think it is dishonest to confuse intersex and trans people. The former have duality imposed upon them at birth by nature. Trans people, on the other hand, decide voluntarily for this form of duality and all the bodily changes it entails. In the meantime the priority should obviously be on making sure that the majority is not disadvantaged out of concern for the inclusion of a minority, and to protect women.”