The former middle-distance runner, who had won the 4x400m relay gold in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, has been accused of being a male and of allegedly raping her live-in partner. Her 30-year-old line-in partner, an estranged woman, had alleged that Pinki was in fact a male following which the athlete was made to undergo gender determination tests.

The formed gold medallist has had a horrid time. She was kept in a male jail, forced to take gender determination tests and even had an MMS clip released while undergoing one of these tests. The treatment meted out to her came under severe criticism from various avenues. All her gender tests were inconclusive and the courts deemed that she was ‘incapable’ of rape. The earlier verdict said that she was genetically almost male.

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple.

“I am not male. I have always been female. As a child, I used to look very sweet. I was a normal girl, like any other, and I wore clothes like that (pointing to my salwar kameez). But now I only wear these clothes (pointing to her track-pants and polo shirt). I look more male now because, as part of my training to compete in international athletics, I used to be regularly administered testosterone injections like other female participants. It was called Russian medicine. I was told that it was necessary to take these and I never questioned whether these were legal or not. I was focused on winning and did whatever I was asked to do by my trainers, who knew what was best for me. But after that my voice became deeper and I grew more body hair.”

Pinki also accused the police of manhandling her and said she was forced to undergo multiple gender determination tests. “When they arrested me, I was led away by two male police, who grabbed me by the arms. I told them, ‘I’m not going to run away. Please don’t manhandle me’. But they didn’t listen. I was also kept in the men’s prison, though in a separate cell. I was assigned one female guard, along with one male guard, during the 26 days that I was in jail. I did not want to undergo a gender test because it is humiliating. But they forcefully subjected me to it against my wishes. I was taken to a hospital and given an injection to make me fall asleep. When I awoke, I found my hands and feet tied to the bed and all my clothes removed.”

The formed gold medallist had a horrid time in recent weeks. She was kept in a male jail, forced to take gender determination tests and even had an MMS clip released while undergoing one of these tests. The treatment meted out to her came under severe criticism from various avenues. All her gender tests were inconclusive and the courts deemed that she was ‘incapable’ of rape. The final verdict said that she was genetically almost male.

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple.

She said that Avtar Singh had some land dispute with Pramanik, for which he needed to prove that Pinki was a male. This comes after Bengal sports minister Madan Mitra claimed a few day back that a person who was arrested in 2004 had tried to grab the lands of the sportspersons allocated by the Left Front government in 2006. 

Singh’s wife Sikdar had spoken out against her arrest said that her husband was not involved and the current regime was trying to implicate him falsely. But Pinki’s former partner described the story which led to Pramanik’s arrest. “After a tiff over payments, Singh told me over phone we need to show the world Pinki is a male,” the woman told a leading daily, hinting that the plan was to portray Pramanik as a fraud and pack her off to prison. 

“Their problem started after Pinki demanded more money for the plot of land where Singh is building a high-rise. Singh paid her a part of the Rs 30 lakh Pinki demanded but their bickering continued,” she said.

The formed gold medallist had a horrid time in recent weeks. She was kept in a male jail, forced to take gender determination tests and even had an MMS clip released while undergoing one of these tests. The treatment meted out to her came under severe criticism from various avenues. All her gender tests were inconclusive and the courts deemed that she was ‘incapable’ of rape. The final verdict said that she was genetically almost male.

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple.

“Normal Karyotypes for females contain two X chromosomes and are denoted as 46, XX. Males have an X and a Y chromosome and are denoted 46, XY. Tests reports revealed that Pramanik has predominantly male features. The test reports – along with our observations – have been submitted to the court,” a member of the medical board was quoted as saying by the daily.

“At the same time, Pramanik has the disorder of sexual development. In medical science not everything can be said in black and white. This case has shades of grey.  Pramanik does not have all the features that a normal adult male has,” he added.

The formed gold medallist had a horrid time in recent weeks. She was kept in a male jail, forced to take gender determination tests and even had an MMS clip released while undergoing one of these tests. The treatment meted out to her came under severe criticism from various avenues. All her gender tests were inconclusive and the courts deemed that she was ‘incapable’ of rape. 

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple.

The formed gold medalist had a horrid time in recent weeks. She was kept in a male jail, forced to take gender determination tests and even had an MMS clip released while undergoing one of these tests. The treatment meted out to her came under severe criticism from various avenues. All her gender tests were inconclusive and the courts deemed that she was ‘incapable’ of rape. 

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple.

“Until proved otherwise, Pinki is a female and the way the police are treating her is deplorable. We have approached the WBHRC giving evidence about how Pinki has been continuously sexually harassed ever since she was arrested,” APDR secretariat member Ranajit Sur told IANS.

Sur led a seven-member delegation and met WBHRC chairman Ashok Kumar Ganguly and submitted newspaper clippings, photos and pictures to substantiate their claim. Holding the administration responsible for an MMS clip showing the athlete in the nude while undergoing a gender test which has gone viral online, the organisation sought exemplary against the guilty.

“For nearly three weeks, Pramanik has been in judicial custody. Therefore, the entire responsibility of allowing this MMS clip to have been created rests with the administration. The commission must therefore enquire the entire matter and punish the guilty,” added Sur.

The treatment meted out to the athlete has attracted criticism from the sporting fraternity as well.

“Male police officers have been escorting her and at times dragging her out from the van. This is absolutely deplorable,” former national women’s swimming champion Bula Chowdhury said. ”She may be charged for a particular crime, but why is she being subjected to this harassment?” asked Shanti Mullick, the only woman Arjuna Award winner in football.

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple 

Source: IANS

“I have heard about the video clip, though I am yet to see it. Those responsible for making the clip must be immediately arrested for such a heinous act. The matter needs to be reported to the police but at the moment Pinki is behind bars and no one from her family is available to file a report,” Pinki’s counsel Tuhin Roy said.

 Roy said he will raise the matter before the court notice at the next hearing July 12. Meanwhile the police have maintained that they can act only if there is an official complaint. “I spoke to police about the matter but was told that they could only act after a first information report (FIR) is filed.

“I have never been subjected to such humiliation and harassment in my life,” said Pinki after she had to come yet again to the government run SSKM Hospital Monday to give blood samples for a chromosomal test.

Former sportspersons have spoken out against the unfair treatment meted out to the athlete.

“Pinki is women until proven otherwise, but male police officers have been escorting her and at times dragging her out from the van. This is absolutely deplorable,” former national women’s swimming champion Bula Chowdhury said.

Another Asiad gold medalist Jyotirmoyee Sikdar echoing Chowdhury views said: “It is a shame that even after so many days, the test results are inconclusive. Why is she still being kept behind bars?”

The athlete has undergone two gender tests in different hospitals though the reports are still inconclusive.

“In the name of gender test, Pinki is being taken from one hospital to another, which has been causing her mental trauma and physical harassment,” Pramanik’s counsel Tuhin Roy said.

An 11-member medical board consisting of doctors from the government-run SSKM Hospital was constituted and conducted several tests on Pinki June 25. However, due to the lack of facilities, Karyotyping- a chromosomal test- could not be carried out.

The athlete’s June 19 test at another government hospital in North 24 Parganas also was inconclusive, following which the athlete was referred to the SSKM.

Are the authorities responsible for Pinki Pramanik’s leaked MMS?

 Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple!

Therefore, Pinki was brought to SSKM on Monday where an 11-member medical board conducted the test. However, the clinical tests proved inconclusive and her blood samples were taken for chromosomal analysis.

Though SSKM had the facilities for karyotyping (chromosomal analysis) it’s only meant for research. The medical board will seek the court’s permission to send the sample to some other institute in the city.  “While seeking the court’s approval to send the samples elsewhere for testing, we have submitted the names of some institutes, including a few in Kolkata, where it can be done,” added Ghosh.

The suggestion of sending the samples to some other city has not been seen well by experts since Kolkata has a central forensic laboratory with DNA-typing facilities. “The CFSL has facilities for DNA typing that is more complex that karyotyping. So where is the need to send the blood samples to another city?” wondered a forensic medical expert.

Also read: Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple!

There are various ways to determine the sex of a child

1) Genotypically – By studying the genes and looking at the chromosomal structure. Males have XY chromosomes and females have XX.

2) Fenotypically – By studying the outward physical experience (genitalia)

3) Psychotoypically – Here the chromosome structures are usually mixed and the doctors try to determine whether the subjects consider themselves males or females. There are lots of unambiguous individuals who consider themselves to be of a member of the opposite sex in their own heads (like a man trapped in a woman’s body) even for people who are biologically ‘male’ or ‘female’.

And finally there are true ‘hermaphrodites’; individuals who have both sets of genitalia. Doctors feel that Pinki could either be a hermaphrodite (who has both ovum and testis) or be part of the third category. Doctors who have closely followed the case believe it’s not as simple as simply as checking her genitalia. It’s quite possible that Pinki might have female features with male overtones which might mean that an enlarged clitoris will look like a penis. It’s a syndrome quite common in female bodybuilders who load up on steroids (artificial testosterone).

Experts are of the opinion that in both mixed chromosomal and hermaphrodite cases, the true sexual identiy can be determined through chromosomal analysis or through gene mapping. This is called karyotyping and it takes at least three weeks before the result is out because a thorough gene culture is done.

Doctors still don’t know what causes the chromosomal or hormonal imbalance that leads to ambiguous genitalia.

“Several tests, including MRI, USG, were conducted on Pinki. However, the facilities for one of her tests (karyotype – a chromosomal test) are not available here. As the results are to be submitted before the court before June 29, extension of time will be sought from the court,” SSKM superintendent T.K.Ghosh told media persons.

An 11-member medical board headed by Biswanath Kahali, head of the hospitals’ forensic department, and including a radiologist, a gynecologist and an anatomist among other experts, was constituted for conducting the medical examinations. Pinki was brought from the Dum Dum Central Correctional Home to the SSKM in the afternoon and first taken to the forensic and state medicine department where some tests were carried out. Later, Pinki was taken for an MRI, USG and other tests.

Meanwhile, Pinki’s counsel Tuhin Roy claimed the entire case was fabricated and also asserted the athlete to be female. ”The entire case is fabricated. She is a female and the tests will now prove that,” said Roy. The athlete was taken for a gender test at another government hospital in North 24-Parganas June 19 but the test was inconclusive, following which the athlete was referred to the SSKM.

Pramanik was arrested June 14 and remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody by a court June 15 after the athlete’s live-in partner, a divorcee and a mother of one, filed a police complaint accusing the athlete of being a male who repeatedly “raped and tortured” her.

Subsequent to the arrest, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports claimed that the former athlete was indeed a male. Pramanik, however, claimed innocence and said it was a conspiracy.

Pramanik, who retired from athletics three years ago, won gold in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in Qatar. The runner was a silver medallist at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the same year. The Eastern Railway with which the athlete is a ticket collector suspended Pramanik June 16 following her remand to judicial custody.

Is Pinki male or female? The answer isn’t that simple.

Source: IANS