Tag: Imane Khelif

  • JK Rowling deletes several posts, goes silent on social media after Imane Khelif lawsuit

    JK Rowling deletes several posts, goes silent on social media after Imane Khelif lawsuit

    Harry Potter author JK Rowling has deleted at least 27 tweets after Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won gold in the women’s welterweight category at the Paris Olympics, filed a lawsuit against her, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump for online harassment.

    Social media users noticed Rowling’s effort to reduce online presence during increased scrutiny. Despite this, some of Rowling’s retweets are still visible, including one about a similar controversy involving another female athlete, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting.

    Read This: Imane Khelif takes Elon Musk and JK Rowling to court

    Imane has spoken about the emotional stress caused by the criticism but remains firm in defending her right to compete. While Rowling’s silence has raised eyebrows, Khelif’s resilience stands out in adversity.

    Background:

    This issue started when the Algerian boxer filed a cyberbullying case against Elon Musk, JK Rowling, and Donald Trump, claiming she faced “aggravated cyber-harassment,” which her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, described as a “misogynist, racist, and sexist campaign.”

    Her lawyer stated that JK Rowling and Elon Musk participated in this campaign. The issue began when American swimmer Riley Gaines posted a picture of Khelif with the caption, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports.” Musk then shared the post, agreeing with it.

    Rowling also criticized Khelif’s involvement, stating on X, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who 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.”

    Khelif faced racist attacks after Italy’s Angela Carini withdrew from her Round of 16 fight against Khelif just 46 seconds into the match, saying she had never been struck this hard.

    President Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) supported Khelif, saying, “Women should be allowed to compete in women’s events.”

    Khelif made history as the first Algerian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. She won the final match against China’s Yang Liu with a score of 5-0 and also secured impressive victories over Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng and Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori.

  • Imane Khelif takes Elon Musk and JK Rowling to court

    Imane Khelif takes Elon Musk and JK Rowling to court

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has filed a case of cyberbullying against Elon Musk and JK Rowling along with others. The case, filed on Friday, claims Khelif has been targeted with “aggravated cyber-harassment,” described by her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, as a “misogynist, racist, and sexist campaign.”

    According to Boudi, both JK Rowling and Elon Musk are included in the campaign. The issue started when American swimmer Riley Gaines posted a picture of Khelif with the caption, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports.” Musk then shared the post, agreeing with it.

    Rowling also criticized Khelif’s involvement in the event, saying, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who 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.”

    Khelif became the center of racist attacks when Italy’s Angela Carini withdrew from her Round of 16 fight against Khelif after just 46 seconds, saying she had never been struck this hard.

    IOC President Thomas Bach supported the Algerian, saying, “Women should be allowed to compete in women’s events.”

    Khelif made history as the first Algerian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. She won the final match against China’s Yang Liu with a score of 5-0. Khelif also had impressive victories over Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng and Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori.

    After winning gold, Khelif sent a message to the International Boxing Association (IBA) saying, “Now the whole world knows who Imane Khelif is.”

    Last year IBA disqualified the 25-year-old from the women’s World Boxing Championships because she reportedly didn’t pass an unspecified test. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed her to continue competing in the Olympics.

  • Imane Khelif files case following gender dispute

    Imane Khelif files case following gender dispute

    Imane Khelif, the Algerian female boxer involved in a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics 2024, has filed a legal complaint against the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) for harassment.

    According to French newspaper Le Monde, the boxing champion has filed a complaint with the Paris correctional court against an unknown person for online harassment. Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, confirmed that the complaint was submitted on Friday.

    Boudi stated that she is now fighting for justice, dignity, and honour and that the complaint for “aggravated online harassment” has been sent to Paris prosecutors.

    Read this also: Social media rallies behind Imane Khelif as racism over Muslim boxer turns ugly

    Khelif said, “The things being said about me on social media are wrong, and I want to change people’s opinions worldwide.”

    She won the gold medal in the women’s boxing competition, defeating China’s Yang Liu 0-5 in the final match of the 66 kg category in the Paris Olympics’ women’s boxing final.

    Imane made headlines when her first-round opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, refused to fight her after just 46 seconds.

    After that, her eligibility to participate in women’s boxing started to be questioned, based on a controversial decision of the International Boxing Association (IBA) last year.

    Read this also: IBA declares Angela Carini champion despite defeat against Imane Khelif

    Based on unspecified tests, the IBA barred Iman Khalif from participating in women’s boxing last year, saying she did not meet the eligibility criteria as a female athlete. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) supported Imane and declared her eligibility to fight in women’s boxing.

    Imane’s father has also confirmed that she is a girl and has grown up with her other siblings.

  • Hometown of Imane Khelif erupts in joy after Olympic win

    Hometown of Imane Khelif erupts in joy after Olympic win

    The poor, rural hometown of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif erupted in joy on Friday as she won gold at the Paris Olympics in the face of a major gender controversy.

    Cheers of Khelif’s name and the country’s famous chant “one two three, viva l’Algerie” broke out in Biban Mesbah, a town of around 6,000 people.

    “It’s Algeria’s victory,” her father, Omar Khelif, told reporters as he watched the fight on a giant screen along with the rest of the village around 300 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Algiers.

    Villagers fired shots into the air in honour of 25-year-old Khelif’s first Olympic medal following her victory over China’s Yang Liu in the women’s 66kg final.

    Imane after winning a Gold medal

    The jubilation also spread to the capital Algiers, where crowds invaded the city center, celebrating the victory with fireworks and a chorus of car horns.

    Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune joined the celebrations on social media site X, saying: “We are all proud of you, Olympic champion Imane, your victory today is Algeria’s victory and your gold is Algeria’s gold.”

    Ahead of Khelif’s fight, hundreds of volunteers turned out in Biban Mesbah to help prepare for the big night.

    Despite scorching temperatures of 46 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit), the men carried out a vast clean-up operation while dozens of women were busy cooking a giant couscous.

    “We agreed to give the village a new face and breathe new life into it, with the victory of Imane Khelif,” her cousin Mounir Khelif, 36, told AFP.

    “We all helped each other, some bringing couscous, others oil and vegetables, while those who couldn’t help with provisions helped with the preparation,” said Amina Saadi, 52, a mother of six.

    “We are all united behind Imane Khelif, who has honored Algeria, that’s the least we can offer her,” she said.

    The boxer has been the victim of a social media hate campaign that portrays her as a “man fighting women.”

    “I’m a strong woman with special powers. From the ring, I sent a message to those who were against me,” she said Friday after her win.

    The gender controversy ignited in the French capital when Khelif defeated Angela Carini in 46 seconds in her opening bout, the Italian reduced to tears and abandoning the fight after suffering a badly hurt nose.

    Algerians from all walks of life have showed their solidarity with Khelif, irritated that her father was forced to show her birth certificate to journalists to prove she was born a girl.

    Amar, father of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, gestures during an interview with Reuters outside his house, in Tiaret province, Algeria, on Friday. – REUTERS PIC

    Khelif’s international career took off with her participation at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she finished fifth in her weight class.

    In 2023, she made it to the semifinals of the world championships in New Delhi.

    But then she was disqualified following gender eligibility testing by the International Boxing Association, which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee and is not running the sport in Paris.

    From a family of limited means, she spoke before the Games of the difficulty of her life in “a village of conservative people” in semi-desert surroundings.
    Imane said that her father initially found it difficult to accept her boxing.

    Imane’s family

    “I came from a conservative family. Boxing is not a widely practiced sport by women, especially in Algeria,” she told Canal Algerie a month before the Games, smiling readily and her voice soft.

    In an interview with UNICEF, she said she used to sell scrap metal and her mother sold homemade couscous to pay for bus tickets to a nearby town.

  • Woman of steel; Imane Khelif wins gold at Olympics

    Woman of steel; Imane Khelif wins gold at Olympics

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, target of racist attacks on her gender, has won the gold medal in the women’s boxing competition.

    In the final of the boxing 66 kg category match, a visibly pumped up Imane defeated China’s Yang Liu by 5-0.

    The Algerian boxer has been the victim of a racist storm questioning her gender ever since Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrew 46 seconds into their bout. Harry Potter author JK Rowling joined in on the attacks l, condemning Imane on X (formerly Twitter), as did Elon Musk.

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) supported Imane and declared her eligible to compete in women’s boxing.

    After that, Imane not only won all the fights but also won the decisive battle to win Algeria’s second gold medal of the event.

    According to the IOC, all boxers participating in women’s boxing meet the eligibility criteria. The same boxing rules are in force at the Paris Olympics as in 2021, with all qualifying rounds of Olympic boxing held under the same rules.

    Read this also: IBA declares Angela Carini champion despite defeat against Imane Khelif

    After the controversy surrounding the Algerian boxer escalated, Hungarian boxer Luca Hamori shared insulting posts about her on social media before the fight. She removed the posts after severe criticism, while Italian boxer Angela also apologized to Imane for her behaviour.

  • Take a bow, girl: Imane Khelif reaches finals at Paris Olympics

    Take a bow, girl: Imane Khelif reaches finals at Paris Olympics

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the victim of racist attacks on her gender, is now getting closer to winning a gold medal in Paris Olympics. Despite the controversy about her eligibility, she won her semi-final match against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in Paris.

    Read this also: Social media rallies behind Imane Khelif as racism over Muslim boxer turns ugly

    The event was extraordinary in many ways, with the Algerian standing out with her rock solid performance. The long line outside Roland Garros before the match was filled with people waving Algerian flags and wearing football shirts.

    Imane will fight for an Olympic gold medal on Friday against China’s Yang Liu.

  • ‘I want to inspire’: Algeria’s woman boxer fighting prejudices

    ‘I want to inspire’: Algeria’s woman boxer fighting prejudices

    Born in a poor village some 300 kilometres from Algiers, boxer Imane Khelif had to overcome obstacles in a conservative country where women are considered unfit for the sport.

    With braided hair and a powerful 1.79 metre (5 foot 9 inch) physique, the 25-year-old is the object of a Paris Olympic Games gender controversy.

    With smiles and a soft voice, Imane told her story on television channel Canal Algerie one month before the start of the games.

    “Our village was around 10 kilometres from the centre (of Tiaret, 280 kilometres southwest of Algiers). I moved from the village to the city. From the city to the capital. From the capital to abroad,” she said.

    From a family of limited means, she spoke of the difficulty of her life in “a village of conservative people” in Tiaret’s semi-desert surroundings.

    “I came from a conservative family. Boxing is not a widely-practised sport by women, especially in Algeria. It was difficult.”

    Already a strong athlete, she played football with the boys in her village of Biban Mesbah — but beating boys in matches brought on fights where she fought back with punches.

    These fights lead her to boxing.

    In an interview with UNICEF, she said she used to sell scrap metal and her mother sold homemade couscous to pay for bus tickets to Tiaret.

    Imane’s father at first did not approve of her decision to pursue boxing, but he eventually became one of her biggest fans.

    The 49-year-old unemployed welder told AFP that his daughter is “an example of the Algerian woman, a heroine of Algeria”.

    He hailed “her strong will to work and to train”, in an interview with AFP on Friday.

    In 2022, Imane told the Algerian news agency APS that she had considered giving up boxing “because my family did not accept the idea, and because of how society looked at me, considering that I was doing something wrong.”

    But “all these barriers made me even stronger and were an extra motivation to achieve my dreams.”

    She also expressed her determination in an interview on the UNICEF website, where she said her “dream is to win a gold medal”.

    “If I win, mothers and fathers will be able to see how far their children can go,” she said. “I want to inspire girls and children in Algeria.”

    Imane’s international career took off with her participation in the lightweight category in the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo — postponed to 2021 — where she won fifth place after losing in the quarter finals to Ireland’s Kellie Harlington.

    “Everything changed for the better, especially as my country’s flag flew and its hymn played in many countries throughout the world”, she explained.

    In 2023, she made it to the semi-finals of the women’s amateur boxing world championships in New Delhi, India.

    However, she was disqualified following unspecified gender eligibility testing by the International Boxing Association, which is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

    After her match against Italian opponent Angela Carini this week in the Paris Games — whom she beat in less than a minute — Imane was targeted by online harassment and racism, where far-right publications insinuated that she was “a man fighting women”.

    Her father has dismissed aspersions about her gender, saying she is “a strong and courageous girl.”

    And the IOC has supported her participation, amid the furore over Khelif and another woman boxer also disqualified from last year’s world championships.

    “All of the competitors respect the eligibility rules for the competitions,” said Mark Adams, IOC spokesman, adding that it had “established that these are women.”

    Imane’s coach, Mohamed Chaoua, said the “controversies give her the strength to move forward”.

  • “Allahu Akbar”, Imane Khelif reaches semi-finals, defeats Hungarian

    “Allahu Akbar”, Imane Khelif reaches semi-finals, defeats Hungarian

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif reached the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics, defeating Hungarian Luca Hamori, who had shared insulting posts about Imane before the fight.

    In the women’s 66 kg category, Imane faced Hungary’s Luca Hamori and defeated her by 5-0.

    The Algerian boxer made headlines when her opponent Angela Carini of Italy refused to fight her in the first round after just 46 seconds, saying that Iman did not meet the standards of a woman and that she was scared for her life. Later, Angela apologised for her behaviour.

    Read this also: Hungarian boxer shares insulting posts against Algeria’s Imane Khelif before match

    Before the fight against Imane, the Hungarian boxer shared insulting posts on social media and also removed the posts after severe criticism.

    After defeating the Hungarian, Imane thanked God and declared, “Allahu Akbar”.

    Read this also: No strength; Vinesh Phogat retires after Olympic disqualification

  • Social media rallies behind Imane Khelif as racism over Muslim boxer turns ugly

    Social media rallies behind Imane Khelif as racism over Muslim boxer turns ugly

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has become the center of a racist attack after her opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit their match while crying, just 46 seconds into the first round.

    The two women exchanged just a few punches before Carini’s helmet was dislodged. She refused to shake Imane’s hands and cried on her knees in the ring. Later, she said that she quit after experiencing intense pain in her nose. Notably, she said that she had not refused to fight Imane.

    The match led to an uproar among right-wing Western conservatives, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Elon Musk, who instantly resorted to calling Imane a man because she had failed an unspecified test in the World Boxing Championships last year. The governing body said she had “elevated levels of testosterone.”

    Imane Khelif childhood pictures

    Social media was quick to rally to Khelif’s defence, pointing out that she had been competing as an amateur since years and had been defeated by women before this match.

    Users shared childhood pictures of the Algerian sportswoman, showing her in girl’s clothing and pigtails. Others pointed out that Algeria is a conservative Muslim country where women cannot have gender reassignment surgeries and transgenderism is legally barred.

    Nida Kirmani wrote that the episode proved that black and brown athletes face immense racism.

    Algerian Football Media account called her a “superwoman”.

    Another account called out Rowling and pointed out that Khelif just has elevated testosterone, something she was born with.

    Others called out Carini for crying about being hit in a boxing match.