Days after winning a boxing competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics and facing severe bullying, Algerian boxer Iman Khalif surprised her followers with a different appearance. She looked completely different from the images typically seen during her matches. With her hair down and light makeup on, the 25-year-old wore a floral-patterned shirt.
It is unclear whether the video, shared on the Instagram account of an Algerian beauty center, was merely a commercial advertisement or a response from Khalif to the defamation campaigns she has faced in recent weeks, where questions about her femininity were raised, and calls for her not to compete against women were made. The young Algerian has faced doubts regarding her womanhood, hate campaigns, and accusations.
Notably, the French public prosecutor opened an investigation last Wednesday following a complaint filed by Khalif concerning severe electronic harassment. The complaint reportedly included names of several celebrities, including the owner of the "X" platform Elon Musk, British author of the famous "Harry Potter" series J.K. Rowling, and former U.S. President Donald Trump, according to various Western media outlets.
The reason behind this includes tweets and comments regarded as painful bullying for Khalif, who mentioned in a recent interview that her experiences during the Olympics led her to cry alone in her room every day. Last week, Iman won the gold medal in boxing at the 66 kg weight category after defeating China's Liu Yang, ranked second, by a unanimous decision of 5-0, becoming the first Algerian and African female boxer to win a gold medal at the Olympics. However, this victory was accompanied by extensive campaigns against her and accusations labeling her as a man at times or as transgender at others. Nevertheless, she later asserted that she was born as a female and has lived as a female, expressing sorrow over the amount of injustice and damage to her dignity that she has endured.
