The South African sports minister, Tokozile Xasa, was recently in Switzerland to pledge her support for Caster Semenya. According to her, the visit was meant to advocate for fellow South African, Semenya. The Minister emphasized the South African government’s position on IAAF decision saying the body is seeking to violate the bodies of female athletes.
According to Xasa, she was passing the message directly from Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African President. She said the President’s message was to encourage Semenya and other sportswomen that they were icons, ambassadors of the enduring power embedded in the human body.
Semenya has been facing problems with the IAAF and the South African government set up a campaign to support the embattled athlete. They have labeled the new rules by the IAAF as discriminatory and so set up the #NaturallySuperior campaign. While sharing her speech, Xasa wore a T-Shirt with the caption “we oppose IAAF regulations.”
Semenya is advocating against the new IAAF rules which state that female athletes with testosterone levels considered higher than normal must take drugs to suppress them before participating in any race. This rule applies for races between 400m and a mile. The IAAF President in defense of the new rule said it was necessary to ensure all athletes compete on a level playing ground.
The final decision on the issue is expected to be heard after four weeks of deliberation at the end of March.
