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New twists in the continuing drama
There can be serious doubt if King Solomon would ever have attempted it, but the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has decided to find the definition of a woman. At the same time, it turns out that Caster Semenya might just have been an example of the biblical pronouncement that children fall prey to the iniquity and sins of the fathers.
The Caster Semenya controversy has had more twists and turns in one day, than the "Days of our Lives" soap opera has had in a month.In August, Semenya (18) won the gold in the 800 metres at the World Championships with a time of 1:55.45. Following her victory, questions were raised about her gender.
On 7 September 2009, Wilfred Daniels, Semenya's coach with Athletics South Africa (ASA), resigned because according to him, "We did not advise Ms Semenya properly".
He apologised for personally having failed to protect her. Athletics South Africa President Leonard Chuene admitted on 19 September 2009 to having subjected Semenya to gender tests.
He had previously lied to Semenya about the purpose of the tests and to others about having performed the tests. He ignored a request from the ASA team doctor, Harold Adams, to withdraw Semenya from the world championships over concerns about the need to keep her medical records confidential.
On the recommendation of South Africa's minister for Sport and Recreation, Makhenkesi Stofile, Semenya retained the legal firm Dewey & LeBoeuf who are pro bono "to make certain that her civil and legal rights and dignity as a person are fully protected".
The Australian media has claimed that Semenya is a hermaphrodite with both male and female sexual organs.
That is the story so far
At the start of the week, the IAAF decided that it will begin the process of agreeing to the definition of a woman in an athletics context next week as it prepares to reveal the results of Semenya’s gender tests.
The IAAF’s medical commission, which begins meeting later this week, could take a year to deliver that definition and its judicial commission will also be asked to consider future regulations, general secretary Pierre Weiss said.
“We are obliged to react. It would have been better if we had been prepared to, but we were not prepared. We will get a reply in the next 12 months.”
The acknowledgement that the IAAF is seeking a definition of a woman in athletics only in 2009, is an astonishing turn of events. Gender testing began at the, wait for it,1966 (not a typing error!) European track and field championships.
That was due to suspicion that several of the best women athletes from the USSR and Eastern European countries were in fact men. It was first introduced at the Olympics in 1968, for the Winter Games in Grenoble.
Chuene, who is fighting for his survival as a beleaguered sports administrator, might just have seen light appearing at the end of the tunnel, an escape clause, a way to reclaim the moral high ground. There might be new hope in his battle for survival.
He might argue that he is vindicated in his pursuit of protecting the interests of the athlete, in that the IAAF is forced to revisit the issue of gender testing.
Their hands, he might argue, were forced by the uncompromising stance of Athletics South Africa.
On Monday, the Cape Times reported that South Africa’s use of the pesticide DDT for malaria control in the Limpopo River Basin is likely to lead to an increase in babies being born with deformed sex organs or being born with both male and female genitalia.
This is the view of former CSIR scientist Anthony Turton, who delivered a lecture on the “Crisis in our Rivers” when he was awarded the Habitat Council’s Conservation Award in the city.
Because of DDT, banned in most countries, South Africa faced a “national propensity to androgyny for future generations”, particularly for babies conceived in high-risk areas like the Limpopo River Basin, he said.
The name of Semenya, who is from Limpopo, was not mentioned in the report at all.
Invariably, one’s mind casts back to the biblical words that children fall prey to the iniquity and sins of the fathers.
Apart from Semenya, it is possible that more female champions might be affected in this way in future, to the detriment of South Africa and its image abroad, as well as to that sporting champion who otherwise might have been an inspiration to a nation.
South Africa has thousands of tons of DDT in the environment which will stay there for decades, even if the country stopped using tomorrow, according to the "Cape Times" report.
Because of the high evaporation rates and intense usage of the water resources, rivers had lost the capacity to dilute pollutants.
Final word
The influential publication "Runner's World" has questioned the Australian media’s claim that Semenya is a hermaphrodite. Her medical results have been reported to show no ovaries. It says Semenya could have Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.
It means she seems to have normal appearing female genitals, no ovaries and internal testes. The intersex society of North America says that AIS individuals are clearly women. The claim by Australian media that Semenya is a hermaphrodite could thus be incorrect.
All of this makes the possibility of a long and drawn-out court case by Semenya’s new lawyers against the insensitive handling of her gender testing by the IAAF as well as by ASA a distinct possibility.
But the biggest rebuke should be reserved for the authorities of Limpopo and like-minded local municipalities or regional municipalities in the rest of South Africa, for allowing the use of internationally banned pesticides within the border of this beloved country and endangering the lives of all its inhabitants
The true question is why - at the start of the 21st Century - we still have gender segregated sports in everything from athletics to rugby.
Surely by now we should be able to define fair competition based on skill and ability, not on gender stereotypes.
Abandon gender-based sport and you abandon the argument.