Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has filed a cyberbullying complaint in France, naming J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk, among others, for alleged harassment over her gender. The complaint follows public accusations from Rowling and Musk, who claimed Khelif is transgender and should not compete in women’s boxing—a claim refuted by Khelif, who was born and lived her entire life as a woman, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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The case may also involve Donald Trump, who expressed support for excluding “men” from women’s sports in response to the right wing hate machine surrounding Khelif. Khelif, who won gold in Paris, was previously barred from the 2023 World Boxing Championships after failing a gender eligibility test under uncertain grounds. However, the IOC has confirmed her eligibility, clarifying that she is female and rejecting claims that she is male.
It is worth noting that Khelif is not only not transgender, but from Algeria, a country famously known for its criminalization of homosexuality. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch reported the Algerian government had increasingly resorted to criminal prosecutions against journalists and media figures for peaceful speech, via articles in the country’s penal code criminalising “offending the president”, “insulting state officials” and “denigrating Islam.” The idea that Algeria of all places would allow someone transgender to represent them on the world’s stage seems unlikely, at best. But, given how little transphobes know about transgender people, perhaps this, too, is unsurprising.
Sources: The Advocate, Human Rights Watch
