Women’s boxing match at Paris Olympics sparks gender controversy

Algerian boxer Imane Khalif, who failed the gender eligibility test last year, defeated her Italian opponent in 46 seconds in the 66kg women’s boxing category, drawing the ire of Italian Prime Minister Giordano Meloni, who said the fight was “not equal.”

A boxing round lasts 3 minutes and each round consists of three rounds. Italian Angela Carini was distraught after the loss, she fell to her knees and cried in the middle of the ring and did not shake hands with Khalif.

The Algerian boxer hit two powerful punches, which knocked Carini unconscious. The Italian boxer suffered a severe injury on her nose, due to which she was unable to even stand up. With this victory, Khalifa reached the quarter-finals of this category.

“My nose was hurting so much that I said, ‘Stop.’ It’s better not to go any further. My nose started bleeding from the first hit,” said a distraught Carini.

Imane Khalif (red) vs. Angela Carini (blue)
Photo credit: Photo credit: AFP

“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be allowed to compete in women’s competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against anyone, but to protect the right of female athletes to compete on equal terms,” ​​the Italian Prime Minister said.

“Yesterday I got emotional when they wrote ‘I will fight’ because dedication, brains and character, of course, play a part in these things too. But then, being able to compete on an equal basis also matters and from my point of view it was not an equal contest.”

What is the controversy?

The International Olympic Committee has allowed two boxers who failed the gender eligibility test for the World Boxing Championships to be eligible to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Algerian boxer was disqualified hours before the gold medal match at the Women’s World Championships in Delhi.

Algerian media reported that Khalif was disqualified due to high levels of testosterone in his body.

Two-time world champion Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan lost her bronze medal in the same event after she too failed to meet the criteria.

Amateur boxing president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency TASS that DNA tests on the two boxers proved they had XY chromosomes, so they were excluded. XY is the male chromosome and XX is the female chromosome.

Reem AlSalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, wrote on X that “Angela Carini correctly followed her instincts and prioritized her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have suffered this physical and psychological violence based on their gender.”

The World Championships were organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA) and were not recognised by the International Olympic Committee due to financial transparency.

The IOC stated that the source of prize money in the International Boxing Association was unclear and that was the reason they withdrew recognition of the IBA.

“The IBA was not prepared to explain transparently the sources of its financing or to make clear its complete financial dependence on Gazprom, a state-owned company at the time,” the IOC said.

The boxing competition at the Paris Olympics is organised by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad hoc unit of the IOC Executive Board.

“All participants competing in the women’s category are complying with the competition eligibility rules. Their passports say they are women and they are women,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.

Nations support their boxers

As expected, the Algerian and Taiwanese boxers have received support from their countries’ leaders. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said, “Yu-ting’s performance has inspired many Taiwanese athletes and united the Taiwanese people. Now that she is once again on the international stage, we should unite and cheer for her.”

Alegria’s Olympic Committee called it a “malicious and unethical attack launched by some foreign media against our distinguished athlete Iman Khalifa.”

The IBA clarified in a statement that Khalif had initially appealed the IBA’s decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but withdrew it later during the process, making their decision legally binding.

However, Lin Yu-ting did not appeal the decision, making it legally binding.

“The IOC’s differing rulings on these matters, which do not involve the IBA, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and the safety of athletes. We urge interested parties to seek answers directly from the IOC for clarification on why the IOC allows athletes with a competitive advantage to compete in its events,” the IBA said.

‘Why do you agree with a man beating a woman?’

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling expressed her opinion on the gender controversy during the match and said, “Explain why you think it’s okay for a man to beat up a woman in public for your entertainment. This is not a sport. From the red light hooligans to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is all about men enjoying their power over women.”

“The Paris 2024 Olympics offer the most comprehensive package of mental health and safety initiatives than any other Olympics or sporting event in history,” Kirstie Burrows, head of the IOC’s Safe Sport unit, said at a press briefing.

Ms Burrows’ comments were not related to the boxing match incident, but Ms Rowling commented and said, “A young female boxer has been stripped of everything she has worked and trained for, because you allowed a man to get in the ring with her. You are a disgrace, your ‘security’ is a joke and Paris 24 will be forever tarnished by the cruel injustice done to Carini.”