Human Rights Watch has thrown its weight behind South Africa’s Caster Semenya. It has slammed world athletics body, the IAAF’s new eligibility regulations for women athletes, saying they are discriminatory and should be revoked.
South Africa’s World and Olympic Games 800 meters champion, Semenya, is among the women affected by the new regulations. It requires any athlete, who has a higher than typical testosterone level, to meet several criteria before they will be allowed to compete in women’s track events between and including 400 meters and a mile.
However, Human Rights Watch insists these regulations are a form of discrimination and stigmatisation. It added that women with intersex variations have the same rights to dignity and integrity as all other women.
