YCLSA ON THE OUTCOMES OF CASTER SEMENYA'S TESTS

The young Communist League of South Africa (uFasimba) is thrilled at the outcomes of the unnecessary gender testing which Caster Semenya had to forcefully undergo. The much-anticipated results confirm that this was merely denial from the west that an African athlete could achieve beyond the benchmark that was put in place.

We have always had faith in Caster Semenya and believe that this whole debacle was affirmation that there are still deeply entrenched stereotypes about how a woman is supposed to look like in accordance to European standards. The IAAF should hang their heads in shame for putting Caster Semenya through such torment and humiliation.

We hope that this will be a lesson for the IAAF for future athletes. We also feel strongly that Caster Semenya deserves a public apology from both the ASA and IAAF. We also wish Semenya all the best in future competitions and hope that she will represent her country irrespective of this debacle. We call on all South Africans to rally behind our Golden girl!!

Statement issued by Young Communist League national spokesperson, Gugu Ndima, July 7 2010

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