[Cherry Christmas]

The UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls (VAWG) has condemned the decision to allow Imane Khelif to compete in women’s boxing at the Olympics, with MPs and JK Rowling among other critics.

It comes after Italian boxer Angela Carini’s women’s 66kg clash with the Algerian boxer was abandoned after just 46 seconds.

The build-up to the fight was marred by controversy following the inclusion of Khelif, who was one of two athletes cleared to compete in the women’s boxing after being disqualified from last year’s women’s world boxing championships in New Delhi for failing to meet the necessary gender eligibility criteria.

Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur on VAWG, said Carini “rightly followed her instincts and prioritised her physical safety, but she and other female athletes should not have been exposed to this physical and psychological violence based on their sex”