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JULIA HARTLEY-BREWER
JK Rowling was just telling the truth about gender row boxer Imane Khelif – so what was her crime?
Whatever sympathy I may have for Khelif is dwarfed by that I have for the women he has punched in the face
IT’S a funny old world when millions of people tune into the Olympics to watch a man pummel a woman’s face to win gold medal glory.
And it’s an even stranger place when the woman who publicly calls this out then finds herself accused of being an aggressive, misogynistic and racist bully.
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Yet that is largely what has just happened after author JK Rowling led many thousands of women’s rights campaigners in criticism of Olympic chiefs for allowing two seemingly male boxers to compete in the women’s boxing contests, with both unsurprisingly winning gold against their weaker opponents.
Now Imane Khelif, the Olympic boxing champion who was at the centre of the gender controversy, has filed a cyberbullying criminal lawsuit with the French authorities, naming JK Rowling and also Elon Musk, claiming to be the victim of harassment and, in the words of Khelif’s lawyer, an “aggressive, misogynistic and racist” campaign against the boxer.
If tried and convicted, the Harry Potter author and the billionaire Tesla and Space X chief could both face up to two years imprisonment and a 30,000 euro fine.
It would be funny if the whole episode wasn’t so, well, downright sickening. Because, as every right-thinking person knows, watching a man beat a woman is a sight that should sicken us rather than prompt cheers, applause and a gold medal.
READ MORE ON IMANE KHELIF ROW
So what precisely was JK Rowling’s alleged crime? She posted on X/Twitter, a video of Khelif’s first match (abandoned by his female opponent after 46 seconds following just two devastating punches to her head). Rowling wrote simply: “Watch this then explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment.”
Elon Musk, meanwhile, replied simply “Absolutely” to a post from former US swimmer Riley Gaines that said “men don’t belong in women’s sports”. Apparently, these social media posts led to a barrage of hostility towards the boxer.
So what on earth did Rowling do that was so wrong? Well, it all comes down to a piece of paper. That piece of paper is Khelif’s birth certificate, which states, in black and white, that the Algerian boxer was born female.
It would be funny if the whole episode wasn’t so, well, downright sickening
Khelif also has a passport stating he is female, which is all the International Olympic Committee requires for any athlete to be allowed to compete in the women-only events at the Games.
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‘Inclusive’ rules
You might be wondering how this all happened. It’s rather more complicated than the cases we’ve seen of men who claim to be trans women and who have legally changed their gender in adulthood. It is believed that Khelif has a disorder of sexual development (DSD) and may have been misidentified by doctors as a girl at birth and raised as a girl by his parents.
Imane Khelif wins Olympic gold in women’s welterweight final after huge gender row that has grabbed worldwide attention
However, this little girl then seemingly went through some version of male puberty and has all the physical benefits of those changes, in terms of height, reach, muscle density, blood oxygenation, lung capacity and — crucially for an Olympic boxer — the ability to punch much, much harder than any woman ever could.
Last year, Khelif was disqualified from the world championships when the International Boxing Association (IBA) announced he had failed a gender eligibility test, stating he was “biologically male”, meaning that he has XY chromosomes. But the Olympic chiefs have more “inclusive” rules so allowed Khelif to compete as a woman.
You may have noticed that I have referred to Khelif throughout as “he” and “him”, yet he has a birth certificate saying he is a woman. However, a piece of paper doesn’t actually decide what sex you are. That’s decided in the womb. And your sex isn’t “assigned” at birth. Your chromosomes decide what you are and anyone with XY chromosomes is male. End of story.
But whatever sympathy I may have for Khelif is dwarfed by that I have for the women he has punched in the face
Not that I don’t have empathy for Khelif. We can only imagine the trauma of being raised as a girl and then finding out you are actually male.
But whatever sympathy I may have for Khelif is dwarfed by that I have for the women he has punched in the face.
It’s bad enough seeing women runners, swimmers and weightlifters facing losing out on Olympic medals, world championships or even Park Run glory because men are claiming to be women to compete in female-only races, but it’s quite another when women face being pummelled to death in a boxing ring by a man as the world cheers them on.
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Rowling has made it clear she is willing to go to prison rather than be forced to pretend she believes men can become women because they FEEL they are women or, in this case, become women because doctors mistakenly BELIEVED they were female when they weren’t.
The only bullying involved in this outrageous story wasn’t of Khelif, it was of the poor women boxers forced to endure punches from a man who can have up to three times more force than a woman’s fist.
Putting men in the boxing ring with women was unfair and it was unsafe. And thank goodness for brave campaigners like JK Rowling who call this stuff out.
What she did wasn’t bullying, it was truth-telling.
Some say the truth can hurt. But not as much as being punched in the head by a man’s iron fist.
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THE 300 residents of a Norfolk village have fallen out over plans to fly the Union flag amid claims it could put people off moving there.
The row started when the Claxton village hall committee announced its proposal for a 9ft 6in flagpole to fly the British flag and some residents claimed the symbol of our nation was “divisive” and associated with the far-Right.
What utter nonsense! The Union flag is a symbol of our national heritage, of our proud history fighting fascism and slavery overseas and for the rights and freedoms of ordinary men and women back at home. How can anyone not be proud of that?
If anyone really is ashamed of the British flag, then please remember that you are free to leave at any time. The rest of us will happily wave you off.
THERE has been so much said and written about the recent riots but one thing we haven’t heard much about is the parents of the two 12 year old boys and the 13 year old girl all convicted of charges of violent disorder during the riots.
They are just the youngest of at least 50 youngsters charged with taking part in the nationwide disorder.
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What I want to know is where were the parents? What on earth were they doing while their kids were out causing mayhem on the streets? And what have they been teaching them at home?
We need to know those answers – and sharpish - because, if we don’t, the next generation of violent yobs will be back on our streets sooner rather than later.