“BEN BİR KADINIM VE HIZLIYIM”: AVRUPA İNSAN HAKLARI MAHKEMESİ’NİN CASTER SEMENYA KARARININ KESİŞİMSEL FEMİNİST İNCELEMESİ

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 23 Sayı: 1, 387 - 426, 08.01.2026

Aysu Gül Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.63117/yuhfd.1809628

Öz

Güney Afrikalı bir atlet olan Mokgadi Caster Semenya, 2009 yılında Dünya Atletizm Şampiyonası’nda 800 metre koşusunu galip bitirerek küresel bir sansasyon haline gelmiştir. Fakat Semenya’nın üzerinde yoğunlaşan bu ilgi sadece başarısıyla ilgili değildir; aynı yıl Semenya’nın cinsiyetinin “aslında” ne olduğu ile ilgili tartışmalar başlamış ve Semenya bu tartışmaları takriben invazif medikal test ve prosedürlere tabi tutulmuştur. Semenya’nın başarıları ile paralel ilerleyen “sporda cinsiyet” ve “kadın kategorisi” tartışmaları 2018 yılında Dünya Atletizm Birliği’nin yayınlamış olduğu ve Semenya ile birlikte birçok atleti etkileyen DSD (Differences of Sexual Development) Yönetmeliği ile zirveye ulaşmıştır. Bu yönetmelik, spor müsabakalarına kadın kategorisinde katılım ile ilgili testosteron hormonu seviyeleri başta olmak üzere bir dizi koşul getirmektedir. Semenya bu yönetmeliğin getirdiği koşullar çerçevesinde hormon baskılayıcı tedavi görmeyi reddetmiş, bunun sonucu olarak da kazandığı madalyaların geri alınması ve sonraki müsabakalardan men gibi yaptırımlarla karşılaşmıştır. Bu duruma karşı yargısal süreç başlatan Semenya, Spor Tahkim Mahkemesi ve İsviçre Federal Mahkemesi’nde sonuç elde edememesi üzerine Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi önüne davasını getirmiştir. Semenya’nın AİHM nezdinde görülen davalarında özel hayatın gizliliğine saygı hakkı, ayrımcılık yasağı, işkence ve kötü muamele yasağı, adil yargılanma hakkı ve etkili başvuru hakkı gibi haklar gündeme gelmiştir. Bu makalede ise Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi’nin vermiş olduğu Daire ve Büyük Daire kararları, kesişimsel feminist bir bakış açısıyla değerlendirilmeden önce sporda kadın kategorisinin arka planı, bu kategorileşmede temel alınan parametrelerin ayrımcı yapısı, kadın olmak ve kadınlık bakımından çizilen sınırlar ve bu sınırların dışarıda bıraktığı özneler tartışılacaktır. Bu alt plan üzerinden ise Semenya’nın AİHM önündeki iddiaları, Mahkeme’nin yorumu ve ortaya çıkan tablonun sporda toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği açısından ne anlama geldiği üzerinde durulacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

feminist hukuk , spor hukuku , eşitlik hukuku , toplumsal cinsiyet ve hukuk , insan hakları , avrupa insan hakları mahkemesi , avrupa insan hakları sözleşmesi , kesişimsellik

Etik Beyan

Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi'nin belirttiği etik ilkeler ve yayın politikasına uygun olarak hazırlanmış bir çalışmadır

“I AM A WOMAN, AND I AM FAST”: AN INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS’S CASTER SEMENYA JUDGEMENT

Öz

South African athlete Mokgadi Caster Semenya became a global sensation following her win at the World Championships in Athletics. However, not all of the attention was on her successes; rumors about her “true” gender was gaining ground that same year and she was consequently subjected to a series of invasive medical tests and procedures. The debates on “gender in sports” and “women’s category” were escalating in tandem with Semenya’s outstanding success in middle distance races and reached their peak in 2018 with the adoption of DSD (Differences of Sexual Development) Regulations by World Athletics. The regulations severely affected Semenya among many other athletes and posed a series of conditions category, primarily related to testosterone hormone levels, for eligibility into the women’s category in sports competitions. Semenya, refusing to undergo hormone treatments as imposed by the regulations, was then faced with sanctions such as the revocation of her previous medals and bans from future competitions. Semenya consequently initiated judicial proceedings against these regulations before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Swiss Federal Supreme Court, however failed to obtain a favorable outcome. She then brought her case before the European Court of Human Rights, and the two judgements (one Chamber and one Grand Chamber) raised issues such as right to respect for private life, prohibition of discrimination, prohibition of torture and degrading treatment, right to a fair trial and right to an effective remedy. This article will first discuss the background of women’s category in sport and the discriminatory nature of the parameters taken as the basis for such categorization, the boundaries drawn around being a woman and the subjects that are excluded by such boundaries. Then, it will analyze in depth both the Chamber and Grand Chamber decisions of the ECtHR from an intersectional feminist perspective. Against this backdrop, Semenya’s claims, the Court’s interpretation, and what the resulting tableau means for the future of gender equality in sports will be examined comprehensively.

Anahtar Kelimeler

feminist jurisprudence , sports law , equality law , law and gender , human rights , European court of human rights , European convention on human rights , intersectionality

Etik Beyan

This research work has been prepared in accordance with the ethical principles and publication policies as stated by Yeditepe University Faculty of Law Journal.

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