South African Minister Writes UN to Decry Treatment of Semenya and "Patriarchy in the Sporting World"

See also today's piece by Katherine Franke of Columbia University Law School.

The Herald of South Africa reports that Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, the Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, has written to the UN’s Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), arguing that there has been a blatant disregard for athlete Caster Semenya’s human dignity and requesting an investigation into whether Semenya has been treated in line with its protocols on gender and equality.

Semenya won a gold medal for the 800 meter race in the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) meeting in last month.  Last week an Australian newspaper claimed IAAF tests showed her body contained both male and female organs.

Mayende-Sibiya argued that  in terms of South Africa law governing sex identification, Semenya is a woman.

The Herald reports that:

The IAAF has not commented on this, but in the meantime Mayende-Sibiya believes the matter violates at least three international commitments governed by the UN on protection and promotion of rights of women.

Mayende-Sibiya argues that treatment of Semenya's case:

• undermines article 13 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which requires measures be put in place to eliminate discrimination and promote the rights of women to participate in sports;

• violates the Beijing Platform for Action which calls for gender-sensitive program for girls and women of all ages and support in all areas of athletics including coaching and administration at the national, regional and international levels;

• contradicts the Brighton Declaration of 1994 which called for a sporting culture that values and enables the full involvement of women in every aspect of sport.

Mayende-Sibiya wrote:

“The equal opportunity to be involved in sport for leisure or for competition, is the right of all women and men, girls and boys.

“I would therefore like to request that the UN Division for Advancement of Women investigates this matter as it has severe consequences for women participation in sports globally,” she wrote in her letter to DAW director Carolyn Hannan.

“There should be some degree of transparency from the IAAF about the sequence of events that led to Miss Semenya’s gender being subjected to such unjustified public scrutiny,” Minister Mayende-Sibiya states in her letter.

“The questioning of her gender is based on [a] stereotypic view of the physical features and abilities attributable to women. Such stereotypes demonstrate the extent of patriarchy within the world’s sporting community,” she said.

Follow Jodi Jacobson on Twitter, @jljacobson