Since her first fight at the Olympics in Paris, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has been caught in a storm of controversy. Khelif defeated her Italian rival Angela Carini in 46 seconds, who then refused to shake her hand (and later apologized) because of a testosterone test she failed last year that resulted in her disqualification from the World Championship.
Social media users were busy discussing the boxer's right to participate in the women's competition following her gender test fail, sparking transgender tropes, although Khelif is not transgender. Algeria claims that the transgender storm is a "Zionist conspiracy."
Yassine Arab, the director of the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committees, made claims about the forces he says targeted Khelif. "The Zionist lobby, they want to break the mind of Imane. But now Imane is very strong. They don’t want a Muslim girl or Arabic girl to go higher in the level of the rank of female boxing. We are all here for Imane. You can see all the support of everybody from the world. All the international press associations, they support Imane," he said.
The allegation that Khelif is transgender became so widely spread that even former President Donald Trump addressed the issue, vowing to "keep men out of women's sports." Arab responded that Trump has enough problems of his own and he should "go see a doctor." Algerian officials also responded to the allegations against Imane.
"Algeria will prosecute those who harmed our heroine. We will respond to any provocation with force," tweeted the Algerian Youth and Sports Minister Abderrahmane Hammad Zaheer. Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, is accused of starting the defamation campaign against Khelif.
Speaking to BeIN Sports, Khelif said: "This is a matter of dignity and honor for every woman or female. The entire Arab people have known me for years. For years I have been boxing in international federation competitions, they were unfair with me. But I have God. I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female. I dedicate this medal to the world and to all the Arabs, and I tell you, long live Algeria."
Khelif has already secured a medal after qualifying for the semi-finals, and she was scheduled to compete on Tuesday for a place in the final against a Thai opponent. Although she previously failed a testosterone test, the International Olympic Committee allowed her to participate in the Paris Games. The results of her tests are confidential, so it is impossible to know whether she enjoys an advantage over her female rivals.