After Italian boxer Angela Carini quit her Olympic boxing match against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in 46 seconds, even she didn’t know the maelstrom of controversy it would unleash. Since then, Khelif has become a lightning rod for the ongoing culture wars with many famous personalities having waded into the controversy. The reason for this? Many raised questions over Khelif’s gender and her qualification for the game.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) had claimed that Imane has XY chromosomes and has elevated testosterone levels, which had led the body to ban Khelif from a tournament last year. While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has disputed this claim and no actual reports have been made public, the controversy continues to rage on. In this article, we take a closer look at Imane Khelif’s background and faith.

Imane Khelif’s religion and background

Imane Khelif grew up in the northwestern rural town of Biban Mesbah in the Tiaret province of Algeria. The boxer was born into a Muslim house and is Muslim herself. The town of Tiaret, where she was born and grew up, according to reports, is quite conservative. Khelif is a devout Muslim and is a strong believer in her faith, and credits all her success to God in various interviews and social media posts.

“So live your present without hurting people, as for the future is made by God, if we bid farewell to the passing year and welcome another coming one, and in between, the hope remains present and standing And that goodness should spread among people,” Khelif wrote in a post.

Imane Khelif’s father, incredibly hurt at his daughter being tarred and feathered publicly, has shared evidence that she was born a female. Not only has he made public pictures of Khelif as a child, which reiterates that she is a girl, but also released her birth certificate. The latter, too, clearly shows that she was born a female. But the road to becoming a boxer wasn’t easy for her.

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More about Imane Khelif’s early life

Imane Khelif grew up in poverty, and during a very tumultuous time for her country, during the Civil War. Her father was a welder, who couldn’t find much work, and Khelif herself would sell bread when she was a child to help her father make ends meet.

Khelif used to play football as a kid along with the boys of her village, which would lead to her being attacked by them. Getting into fights is actually what revealed her boxing talent. A local boxing coach, hearing of her talents, took her under his wing and started training her in boxing.

Growing up in her conservative town, where women were expected to stick to traditional gender roles, Khelif faced a lot of pressure from her family and community, who felt sports were not appropriate for a girl. However, despite the financial and social pressure, Khelif incredibly overcame it all to become one of the first three female boxers to represent Algeria at the Olympics. But now she is perhaps facing the biggest challenge of her life, with seemingly the entire world interested in her for all the wrong reasons.