Magnum Photos Blog

Sex-Testing in Professional Sport : Dutee Chand's Case 

July 20, 2016 
by Sohrab Hura 
Born in 1996 in India, Dutee Chand is a professional young woman sprinter. Having become the national champion in the under-18 category in 2012, her success story raised questions among competitors. Following the first interrogations, the Athletics Federation of India required Dutee to undergo several "feminity" tests, and doctors finally stated that she had “male hormone” levels that were too high to compete in the female category. As a result, officials said she should no longer race. Dutee Chand contested this decision, and after fierce debates, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a decision to suspend the hyperandrogenism regulation for female track and field sports until July 2017.
On June 25th, Dutee Chand qualified to run the 100m at Rio Olympics, being the first Indian woman to represent India at this race since 1980.

The story, photographed by Sohrab Hura, was feature in <a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/the-humiliating-practice-of-sex-testing-female-athletes.html' target='_blank'>The New York Times</a> : "The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes" (by Ruth Padawer).