2024-08-02 14:03:12
As if it were not enough with the amount of skills that are developed in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the respective analyses of each one, now a wave of criticism was added – and of sayings transphobic– to the Algerian female boxer Imane Khelif.
It turns out that in her debut, the boxer was in the eye of the storm after her rival, the Italian Angela Carinihe retired from the fight when just 46 seconds had passed. This started a debate about Khelif’s condition and his “high level” of testosterone, despite having passed all eligibility requirements.
But, in the midst of all this back and forth Who is Imane Khelif? The 24-year-old was born in a rural village called Tiaret, in western Algeria, on May 2, 1999.
To raise money for transportation and to go to training 10 kilometers from her home, the athlete sold scrap metal for recycling at just 16 years old, while his mother was selling couscous. Together they paid for travel to the village so that Khelif could attend regular boxing training classes.
Finally, the effort paid off, because At 19, the young woman finished 17th at the 2018 World Championships in New Delhi and then represented Algeria at the 2019 World Championships in Russia, where she placed 33rd.
It should be noted that during her childhood, her father disapproved of boxing for women. However, she insisted, managed to prepare and won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships in 2022.
“I started with nothing and now I have everything. Both of my parents come to support me; they are my biggest fans. My greatest achievement is being able to overcome the obstacles in my life,” she said in an interview with UNICEF, the UN entity she represents as an ambassador.
Khelif disqualified in 2023
Despite having had a meteoric start, in 2023 she was disqualified from the World Boxing Championship, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The reason? She allegedly failed to meet the standards of an unspecified “gender eligibility test.”
At that time, the president of the International Boxing Association, Umar Kremlev claimed that Khelif’s and other athletes’ test results proved that she had XY chromosomes.although the conclusions were never published, nor was it revealed what these examinations consisted of.
Imane Khelif is a woman: what is hyperandrogenism?
Angela Carini left the ring crying 46 seconds into the competition against Khelif, whom He did not say hello when he leftMoments later he spoke to reporters and said: “I couldn’t go on. My nose was hurting so much that I said, ‘Stop.’ It was better not to go on. It could have been the fight of my life, but at that moment I had to save my life too.”
Then he added: “I’ve always fought against men, I train with my brother, but today I felt too much pain.” This response reopened the door to debate again about the presence of transgender people in sports and, as is well known, discourses of discrimination, transphobia and hatred against the community. In fact, President Javier Milei and other officials dared to comment on the matter.
The reality —although it seems unusual to clarify it— Imane Khelif is a cisgender woman: Your gender identity corresponds to the sex assigned at birth. In conclusion, you are a woman.
Another important clarification is that Khelif is from Algeria, nation that has criminalized the LGBTIQ+ community. In the mentioned Arab territory there is no recognition of gender identity and homosexual couples are sent to jail. So, sIf the athlete were transgender, she would not be representing her country as a woman, because they would not have allowed it under any circumstances.
Although the fighter herself has not come out to clarify it, experts suggest that the reason behind her physical appearance and great strength may be due to hyperandrogenism, a hormonal medical condition.
Precisely, the aforementioned diagnosis is characterized by excessively high levels of androgens in the body (male hormones, such as testosterone)), which can affect both women and men.
According to specialists, it is commonly associated with endocrine disorders and can manifest in a variety of symptoms. In women, for example, severe acne, hirsutism, androgenetic alopecia, menstrual irregularities and fertility problems.