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| Caster Semenya | image via Facebook/ Caster Semenya |
Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion and athlete with differences of sexual development (DSD), has expressed her desire to fight for what is right amid her ongoing dispute with athletics authorities. Semenya, who was born with DSD, cannot compete in female track events without taking testosterone-reducing drugs. She wants to hold World Athletics accountable for discrimination against athletes with hyperandrogenism and recently said she is turning her attention to winning battles against the authorities rather than collecting medals.
Semenya, who won Olympic 800m gold in 2012 and 2016, believes that she will embrace her differences and not conform "to be accepted" and wants to empower women to have a voice. She believes that the importance of women's sports is not being taken seriously, and we need to take charge of our bodies and decide what suits us.
In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in Semenya's favor in a case related to testosterone levels in female athletes. Semenya argued that taking testosterone-reducing medication could endanger her health and that the ruling denied her and other athletes with DSD the right to rely on their natural abilities. She revealed that she knew she was "different" from the age of five but found out she did not have a uterus or fallopian tubes at the same time as "the rest of the world" after a gender test in 2009.
Semenya has argued that taking testosterone-reducing medication could endanger her health and that the ruling denied her and other athletes with DSD the right to rely on their natural abilities. She has stated that she has "nothing to hide" and that she is a woman and has a vagina just like any other woman. She is living a different life and will continue living that, as that is what makes her feel good.
Semenya has achieved all she ever wanted on the track and wants to "pave the way and ensure every young girl is treated well." She is about fighting injustice, inclusivity, and diversity and not allowing leaders who come for selfish means into their business to destroy it. She believes that it is not up to them to decide what gender should look like or what sex should look like.
World Athletics has stated that it has 15 years of data, observations, and information directly from DSD athletes in its sport that show high testosterone levels provide an unfair advantage in the female category. The federation has stated that its guidelines on testosterone thresholds are necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in their aim to protect the integrity of the female category.
Here at HMR, we support Caster Semenya and wish her all the best. We embrace diversity at all costs.
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