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.