ANCWL condemns unnecessary gender analysis on Caster Semenya

The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) on Saturday condemned the unwarranted speculation by the international media on the sexual orientation of a South African gold medallist runner, Caster Semenya.

"As the ANCWL we view the debate on Castor's gender as an attack to humiliate and demoralise her since she is expected to win a gold medal in the 2016 Olympic games," ANCWL Secretary General Meokgo Matuba said in a statement.

The ANCWL condemns the motives of those who continually perpetrate a view that an African woman has no capacity to excel in sports, Matuba said.

Caster Semenya's eligibility to compete against other female athletes is not a debatable matter as she was born a girl and no amount of public humiliation can change her gender, said Matuba.

She said the ANCWL respects and accepts the decision of the Court of Arbitration (CAS) on ruling out the enforcement on testosterone limits on runners as Semenya.

The courts have proven that there was insufficient evidence to prove that women athletes with higher testosterone levels had an edge over other women athletes.

"This kind of scrutiny is inhumane and is a violation on Semenya's human rights," Matuba said.

"As the ANCWL we are fully behind Castor Semenya," Matuba said, adding that Semenya will rise above the speculations and bring a gold medal back onto South African shores.

The ANCWL calls on all South Africans to rally behind Semenya and condemn all speculations on her gender, Matuba said.

Semenya, 25, is a controversial figure in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. She is widely expected to win a gold medal in the 800 meters, a race in which her times have been approaching a decades-old world record thought by many in the sport to be unapproachable -- five minutes 10 seconds.

But because of higher testosterone in her body, there has been speculation by the international media on her sexual orientation. Enditem