’Fake woman! Fraud’: Understanding the Imane Khelif controversy at Paris Olympics 2024

Olympic discourse took a somewhat transphobic turn this week as internet trolls political leaders, billionaire businessmen, and everyone in between banded together to rage against Algerian athlete Imane Khelif. The outcry began during her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday after Italian opponent Angela Carini tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.

“This is where Kamala Harris's ideas about gender lead: to a grown man pummeling a woman in a boxing match. This is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn it,” opined US Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance.

“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,” wrote bestselling author JK Rowling. She shared a photo of Carini in tears while Khelif tried to comfort her after the match was cut short to underscore her point.

Meanwhile Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk retweeted an X post by American swimmer Riley Gaines that insisted that ‘men did not belong in women's sports’.

Who is Imane Khelif?
Khelif is an Algerian professional boxer who represented her country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is currently competing in Paris. She has won numerous gold medals at various boxing championships and made it to the finals of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in March 2023.

Why was she disqualified in 2023?
Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout in New Delhi after failing to meet the eligibility criteria set by the International Boxing Association. The Algerian Olympic Committee cited ‘medical reasons’ for the expulsion while later reports quoting the International Olympic Committee indicated that she had failed a testosterone level test.

“Based on the results of DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to deceive their colleagues and pretended to be women. Based on the results of the tests, it was proven that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from the competition,” IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency Tass in March last year.

It must however be noted that the IBA has not officially explained the grounds on which she failed the test. Khelif has also never been shown to have a genetic condition giving rise to a Difference of Sexual Development.

What changed before the Paris Olympics?
She was eventually cleared to contest the Paris Olympics after the IOC took over the screening process. The International Boxing Association (which handed Khelif her initial disqualification) is no longer recognised by the Olympic committee. The IOC has also said the IBA decision to disqualify them last year was arbitrary

It is however pertinent to note that the athlete profile shared on the IOC internal system (provided to journalists in Paris) acknowledges that Khelif was disqualified last year “after her elevated ­levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria”.

The vitriolic attack against Khelif continued to gain momentum over the next two days as some tried to offer a counterpoint. Several social media users tried to provide ‘evidence’ of her femineity — digging up purported childhood photos and sharing her official documents.

“I’m really not sure why this is so confusing for everyone… on top of that, she’s from Algeria, where they are *checks notes* NOT known for their tolerance of trans people,” reminded one X user.

“I'm digging into the whole boxing thing and it's just really funny, because they're saying she doesn't identify as trans. It's illegal to transition in Algeria where she's from. Her passport says female. And people are saying she isn't a woman,” read another baffled tweet.

“Imane Khelif was born a woman, has female reproductive organs, and is from a country where it is illegal to be trans. You think Algeria would send a trans person to the Olympics?” demanded a third.

What have the authorities said?
IOC President Thomas Bach issued a statement on Friday amid growing furore over the participation of Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan.

“We are talking about women's boxing. We have two boxers who were born as women, raised as women, who have passports as women and who have competed for many years as women and this is a clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being women,” Thomas Bach told a press conference.

Meanwhile the International Boxing Association said it would award Italy's Angela Carini $50,000 in prize money after she abandoned her fight against Khelif in the opening minute of the Paris 2024 round of 16 bout.

What happened on Saturday?
Amid the ongoing debate, Khelif has forged ahead to secure an assured Olympic medal. The ace boxer defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5:0 in the quarterfinals of the women’s 66-kilogram division. She is now slated to win at least an Olympic bronze medal.