All Humans Are Equal but Some Are More Equal

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Sports news tends to air last in most news broadcasts. Our heroes are only prominently featured if there are medals and jackpots involved. Sports coverage in Kenya is mostly assigned to programs that run during the weekends such as ‘THE  SCORE” by Radio Africa. There are sport exclusive channels such as Kwese sports but their numbers are dismal. The value adds that sports bring to the national economy is not fully recognized in Kenya. More so female sports compared to their male companions

The first time female athletes took part in modern Olympic games was in 1900. In the second Olympic games, only 12 female athletes participated out of the 1066 athletes from 19 countries. Today’s women have made a name for themselves in the sports world- Serena Williams, Dutee Chand, Portia Modise, Brigid Kosgei, Caster Semenya and Maria Mutola. It is without a doubt that sports are a huge potential to women empowerment. African women, in particular, have made a name for themselves in the athletic world. Derartu Tulu was the first African black female athlete to win an Olympic title. When Kenyan, Brigid Kosgei and Vivian Cheruiyot garnered gold and silver respectively in the recent London marathon, there was an uproar on social media platforms. All sort of memes were created and shared. Some described the rest of the athletes as chasing the two ladies while they were running.

However, there could be a possible threat. What does the future of sports hold for women? Caster Semenya, a South African double champion and triple champion in the 800 distance lost her appeal against the International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on testosterone regulations.  This reminded me of the allegorical novella by George Orwell, with “The pigs who were an outstanding character came up with commandments for the rest to follow”. In the case of the IAAF ruling, “all animals are equal but some are more equal.”

Based on the scientific knowledge of genes and anatomy, mundane   defined as binary “male” or “female.” This has been a clear way of categorizing women and men who participate in sports. However different people have different sex developments compared to others. Some have higher testosterone levels compared to others thus giving them an ‘advantage’ when it comes to sports.