Shanthi Soundarajan wants her dignity back

Sports enthusiasts would not have forgotten Shanthi’s case. She had Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Earlier, testosterone testing was introduced to identify athletes whose testosterone levels were elevated above an arbitrary level, called hyperandrogenism. In April 2011, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) announced the newly adopted rules that allowed females with hyperandrogenism to participate, where an upper-limit of testosterone levels (10nmol/L) was set and in case the levels were high, the athletes had to take medication to bring it down. The rules were reversed only in 2015 and the practice was suspended. This has allowed Dutee and Semenya to represent their countries in international events. 

A few years ago, Shanthi’s gender was discussed on national television after she failed the ‘gender test’. She was not only stripped of her medals but also her dignity, when she was told that she was not ‘woman’ enough. For Shanthi, representing the nation in competitive, global platforms was no less than a miracle, having come from a small village where her parents were brick-kiln labourers. “We lived in a tiny hut with four siblings and my parents. We didn’t have basic necessities like electricity, running water or toilet. There were days we’d go without food. But we survived. What helped me through the tough times is my love for running,” says Shanthi, who won silver in the 2006 Asian Games, only to be stripped her of her medal.

Her world turned upside down after that. “I won 12 international medals for my country but to someone it didn’t matter. I have short hair and I dress like a man and I don’t’ conform to the world’s idea of woman,” says Shanthi, who at that point of time felt that her achievements didn’t matter anymore. “In despair, I tried to end my life but I failed.”

Her case has got a shot in the arm after Thappad, an online platform that generates opinions on thought-provoking issues, started a petition to secure Shanthi justice. A video, directed by Dheepa Ramanujam, accompanying the petition has gone viral. 

“All we ask for is that we restore her honour. Today, when we can allow Dutee Chand to go and run at the Olympics, the least we can do is apologise to her. Our main aim through the petition is that Shanthi’s name be put back on all the official records of the races that she had won and we also want the government to give Shanthi a permanent job,” says co-founder of Thappad.

Shanthi now coaches youngsters and hopes that no other person has to go through what she went through.