The IOC Attempts To Ban Transwomen From Sports Competition

 

The IOC is making attempts to ban transwomen from Olympic competition. To some, this is a shock considering it is occurring under the first female IOC president Kristy Coventry. Transwomen have been allowed to compete in the Olympics since 2004. There were few objections and hysterical reactions during the 2000s. The anti-LGBTQ  backlash was fueled by the religious conservatives who hated that this group were getting equal treatment under the law. A culture war is now infecting international sports competition. This is also negatively impacting cisgender women. Female athletes are now subject to sex testing once more. It could possibly get more strict if a ban goes into effect. The IOC claims these measures are for the protection of the female category and fairness. The assertion just disguises discrimination based on gender identity. Cisgender women with differences in sexual development are being harassed by IOC policy. The policies enacted also reveal a degree of anti-trans misogyny. Transwomen receive more vituperation and abuse compared to transmen. Kristy Coventry's employment history is subject to debate. Her only experience managing a sports organization was being minister of  Sport, Recreation, Arts, and Culture in Zimbabwe. Prior to this Kristy was an a swimmer who competed in the Olympics. Kristy Coventry has no experience in government or sports management prior to the 2018 appointment by the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration. Her tenure as minister of    Sport, Recreation, Arts, and Culture did not leave lasting improvement or change. A similar pattern could occur with her leadership of the IOC. The reason she was probably elected was to make it easier to push discriminatory  policies. A female IOC president would have less difficulty getting anti-trans rules imposed. Kristy Coventry  was born in a country that was a white minority ruled colonial regime. Observers and activists realize that the IOC is going backwards and  policies are not supported by sports science. Cisgender women continue to hold the majority of sports records and few transwomen are competing.  

The Afghan Women's Soccer Team Has Been Evacuated

 

After 20 years, the Taliban has returned to power. The invasion was justified by the US-NATO force as a mission to stop terrorism and dismantle Al-Qaeda. The myth was that the US and its allies were winning. The fall of the government is no shock to observers who monitored the conditions of the country. Women's sports did get a boost without the Taliban's restrictive laws . The Afghan women's soccer team was at least one of the few positive developments in Afghanistan. The athletes have been evacuated to Italy and Australia. Afghan women will have to seek sports opportunities elsewhere. This only harms the country seeing as its sports talent will flee. The return of the theocratic regime means more restrictions on basic rights of citizens. Women will be effected the worst, seeing as the more religious a society there is less concern about women's rights. While the escape was successful, the life of a refugee is not easy. The 9/11 attacks induced a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq made exacerbated it further. Women's sports in Afghanistan are about to be non-existent under a new Taliban regime.  

The Alabama Anti-Abortion Law

There has been a devastating blow to women's health and reproductive rights in the United States. Alabama has passed one of the strictest anti-abortion laws. The law basically outlaws all abortion except under the circumstance that the mother's life is in danger. The cases that involve rape and incest do not get an exemption. The few abortion clinics in Alabama have vowed to remain open and serving women's health needs despite the law. More states are emboldened to produce more laws that are clearly unconstitutional. So far, there may be a conservative campaign to overturn Roe V. Wade. If  this happens women's health will be in peril. Women may seek to go get abortions from people less qualified in other states or possibly other countries. The level of inadequate healthcare in southern states is a cause for alarm, with more women dying when giving birth in previous decades. This increase may double without the full protection of reproductive rights. The ant-abortion movement has been driven by social conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and men who want to reverse the gains of the feminist movement. The movement is not about protecting life, rather restricting the control women have over their bodies. The next target will be the prohibition of contraception,if such anti-abortion laws are enacted nationwide. The irony is that the governor of Alabama Kay Ivey signed the bill into law in the state. It is a lugubrious reminder that many times women can be agents in their own oppression. Alabama's anti-abortion law will certainly be challenged in the Supreme Court. However, the number of conservative judges could hold the fate of women's health in the balance.