Women's Olympic boxing: 'It's not fair!' Or is it?

This long, hot, sporty summer rolls on. Schools have been broken up for weeks, and children are everywhere - including all over my home! My three sons scrap over just about everything in the summer heat. Cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ seem to constantly ring out from one or the other; but how do I discern whose rights matter more when push comes to (literal) shove between the children?

Over in Paris, the Olympic women’s boxing has also been dominated by cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ Just 46 seconds into her bout against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, Italian Angela Carini was punched so hard in the face that she fell to the floor weeping, ended the fight, saying to those in her corner 'Non è giusto' ('It’s not fair'). Later, she said she had feared for her life.

Her opponent, Khelif, was banned from competing in the 2023 World Championships for failing tests to meet the ‘eligibility criteria’ for participating in women’s competition - reportedly after tests revealed that she had male XY chromosomes. Britain’s gold winning boxer Nicola Adams called it ‘unfair and dangerous.’ Many have spoken out about their strong feelings about the 46-second fight - everyone from Donald Trump to the United Nations expert on violence against women and girls.