Imane Khelif Now Banned From Competing in Women’s World Boxing Events

Imane Khelif, who won gold at last year’s summer Olympics in Paris, has shockingly been banned from competing in all future World Boxing events in the women’s category unless she can prove she’s biologically female.

World Boxing has bowed to a loud social media campaign that expressed anger that Khelif was due to compete in the Eindhoven World Cup next week. The organisation had thus far been supportive of the female boxer, posting as recently as Tuesday: “Proud that Imane Khelif is there again to defend her title.” It appears that campaigns against her participation have got what they wanted, however, with Khelif now forced into proving her gender via sex screening tests despite being a biological woman.

Imane Khelif Controversy at Paris Olympics

It all started back in the summer of 2024 when Khelif battered Angela Carini

Imane Khelif came under fire after beating Italian fighter Angela Carini in just 46 seconds in the round of 16 at the Paris Olympics. The fighter later said she feared for her life and expressed concern over her opponent’s gender. In the rest of Khelif’s run to the final, she faced significant backlash and criticism, with many fans and members of the media suggesting she was transgender, which she is not.

It seems probable she has DSD, however, which results in atypical development. At the time of the Olympics, there was a lot of misinformation around this issue on social media that only served to stir up hate and division, and take away from Khelif’s great run to the gold medal.

A potential DSD diagnosis could be the reason why XY chromosomes have previously been recorded in the body of Khelif, causing her to be disqualified from the 2023 World Championships, which is an issue that was previously cleared up in time for the Paris Olympics. The governing body decided then that passport status was an acceptable way of defining participation, but they’ve now flip-flopped into trying to restrict Khelif from competing.

It looks like, at least in the short term, those directing hate messages towards Khelif and the World Boxing Association will be successful in stopping her from competing. When Angela Carini first used Khelif’s body as an excuse for being beaten in just 46 seconds, several vocal people against the transgender community piled on the abuse on social media, including J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk.

Khelif has since launched lawsuits against them after they wrongfully accused her of being transgender, declaring: “I see myself as a girl just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one.”

Khelif will now have to decide to either bow to the ruling of Boxing Events and go through sex screening, or continue to resist and use the facts of the situation and her body to prove that she is eligible to compete in women’s boxing. She has previously expressed a commitment to defending her gold medal at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but with World Boxing being the provisional authority for that event, her ability to do this is also in doubt.