"I’m devastated, I feel like I’m losing my mind" / Subjected to a gender test, Dinamo’s volleyball player tells DW: Every day in my room…

A Brazilian volleyball player in Albania has been forced to undergo a gender verification test following concerns raised by rival teams. Nayara Ferreira says she feels shocked and devastated.

Brazilian volleyball player Nayara Ferreira stated that the decision of the Albanian Volleyball Federation (FSHV) to subject her to a gender test and suspend her from play has deeply affected her.

“I feel like I’ve been destroyed, like I’m losing my mind, because I keep thinking why this happened to me, why they did this to me,” said Ferreira, who plays in Albania’s top women’s volleyball division.

“Every day in my room I ask myself about this, and so far, I don’t know the answer. I don’t understand why I’m in this situation,” she told DW. “They asked me to take a gender test. I’ve played in seven countries, including Saudi Arabia. Never before have I been asked such a question.”

Ferreira was suspended in October by the FSHV after two rival teams submitted documents and requested a review of her case. One of the FSHV requests stated that “the relevant analyses will be carried out to verify the natural physical performance and to determine the gender of Dinamo’s player, Estephanie Goulart Ferreira Nayara.”

Her club, Dinamo of Albania, called the decision absurd and an insult to a veteran player with a distinguished career. The Brazilian has been suspended for three weeks, missing three matches, and says she has faced total silence throughout this period. “I have no words to fully describe how I feel,” she added. “Why are you doing this to me [AVF]? Just because you see my face, just because you see my hair?”

Support from the team

Ferreira confirmed that she took the test voluntarily, but only to help her club. “I don’t need to prove to anyone that I’m a woman, because I am a woman. That’s 100%,” she said.

Dinamo’s team captain, Elena Bego, said the situation has been very difficult for the team. “It was partly my duty to communicate the news to the other girls. We were all shocked – this case is extremely scandalous,” Bego told DW. “We have supported Nayara the whole time because we know she’s a woman.”

Dinamo’s coach, Orlando Koja, added that Nayara’s absence had also had a major sporting impact, as the team was left weakened in important matches without one of its key players.

For Ferreira, the situation has had a personal impact, but she believes it is also something bigger than just her individual case.

“I think after this situation we need to reflect on what respect really means. Because with things like this, they destroy women in sports,” she said.

The issue of gender identity in women’s sports has become an increasingly sensitive topic in recent years, especially following the global controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer.

This year, the World Athletics Federation also decided that gender tests would be mandatory for all women competing.

“KORÇA BOOM”