To those who criticize her daughter, Imane Khelif’s mother has delivered a stern message.When the 25-year-old was competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, there were unfounded rumors about her gender.
When the athlete defeated Italy’s Angela Carini in 46 seconds on August 1st, it all began. The Italian boxer reportedly broke down in tears and said, “It’s not fair,” before declining to shake the hand of her opponent as it became apparent that she would not be moving on to the next round.
Following the fight, false information regarding Khelif’s gender and suitability to fight in women’s boxing went viral on social media.
The Algerian, who has competed in women’s boxing since she began the sport, has always identified as a woman, is listed as a female on her passport, and has drawn criticism from both prominent people like J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump, in addition to online users.
Concerns were raised regarding Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting competing in the women’s division after the IBA disqualified them from the world championships the previous year for not meeting the required gender qualifications.
Source: Freepik
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, disapproved of those tests as being seriously faulty and has since banned the IBA due to concerns about suspected corruption, governance, and ties to Russia.
The competitor didn’t lose a single round in the women’s welterweight (66 kg) division in spite of criticism from the audience.
She became the first Algerian woman to win the boxing gold when she defeated China’s Yang Liu in the final on August 10.
Following her remarkable victory, she shared a powerful message to her critics, saying: “Whether I qualify or not, or whether I’m a woman or not, I have made many statements in the media,” per News.com.au.
“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I am a woman, like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, and I competed as a woman,” she continued. “There’s no doubt about that.”
“There are enemies of success—this is what I call them. That also gives my success a special test because of these attacks.”
The Olympic gold medalist’s family hasn’t stopped standing up for her.
For the first time, her mother Nasria has reportedly spoken out, telling the Daily Mail that she will provide her “beloved daughter” with her “unwavering love and support, as I have always done since she was born.”
This happens after Omar Khelif, Khelif’s father, stated that his daughter should have been able to compete after her match with Carini sparked controversy on the internet.
“My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. She’s a strong girl. I raised her to be hard-working and brave. She has a strong will to work and to train,” he told Sky News. “The Italian opponent she faced was unable to defeat my daughter because my daughter was stronger and she was softer.”
Khelif has launched a cyberbullying case in France, citing Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling, and Donald Trump. She will keep up her resistance to online harassment.
The athlete filed a complaint against platform X based on her experiences during the Olympics, and the National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred prosecutor’s office in Paris, directed by attorney Nabil Boudi, verified receipt of the complaint.
The statement continued: “On Aug. 13, The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination, and public insult because of origin,” according to Variety.
Trump would be part of the investigation too, with the attorney explaining: “Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
After winning gold, Khelif remarked that social media vitriol is now “meaningless,” adding, “They impact the dignity of people, and I think now people’s thinking has changed. As for the IBA, since 2018, I’ve been boxing under the umbrella of the IBA.”
“They know me very well, they know what I am capable of, and they know how I have developed over the years,” she said.
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