The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) believes the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) new regulations are discriminatory.
The CGE has called upon UN Women, Department of Sports and Recreation, Athletics South Africa, (ASA) South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to offer their support to South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya.
The IAAF has decided to amend its regulations regarding female athletes like Semenya who are known to produce high levels of testosterone.
The new regulations would require female athletes to maintain testosterone levels below 5 nanomoles per litre for a continuous period of at least six months.
The Commission believes the new regulations are discriminatory against athletes and said in a statement on Wednesday, “It cannot be those female athletes who produce 5 percent of nanomoles are subjected to this unjust and unfair regulation contrary to many conventions and protocols that are there to protect and promote unfair treatment of female athletes/women from abuse and discrimination.”
The CGE reiterated their support for the legal challenge launched by Semenya with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland against the new regulation in order to ensure that the rights of all women are safeguarded and protected.
Source: Timeslive
