Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif Breaks Silence on ‘Bullying’ Over Gender Misconceptions
Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity,” and she called for an end to bullying athletes after being greatly affected by the international backlash against her.
Transcript
00:00I couldn't control my nerves because of the media and after the victory, I was happy
00:15but at the same time I was affected because it wasn't an easy thing.
00:23It's a matter of dignity for a person and that's what affected me at the end of the tournament.
00:32This is a question that I ask myself, why is this still happening?
00:41I don't know, I came here to focus on my goal which is the Olympics.
00:48Today I'm in the semi-finals and I hope to be in the semi-finals.
00:53I hope that God will help me and I will be able to control things
00:58so that I can overcome these two stages and the semi-finals.
01:02My message to all the people of the world is that they should stick to the Olympic principles
01:08according to the Olympic agreement and stay away from bullying all athletes
01:14because bullying affects people a lot and can destroy people
01:19and kill people's thinking and mind and divide people.
01:27I would like to thank all those who helped me, all the Algerians, all the people of the Arab world
01:35and all the world for helping me to stand up against this fierce campaign.