Women Who Want To Become Policewomen Are To Undergo A Virginity Test In Indonesia

Indonesian women looking to become police officers must have their genitalia inspected to assure they are virgins, civil rights group Human Rights Watch has found.

Virginity is listed as a requirement for eligibility on the website for the Indonesian National Police, CNN reports, a reflection of the predominantly Muslim country’s views toward women’s rights.

Applicants must also be single and, according to the Guardian, are told not to marry until maintaining the job for several years.

Women discovered to have had sex are not necessarily rejected from the police force, but further consequences for failing the test remain unclear. Accompanied by a smiling emoticon, the National Police website reads.

In addition to the other medical and physical examinations. Women who want to become policewomen are to undergo a virginity test. Policewomen must keep their virginity.

A spokesperson for the Indonesian National Police told CNN that male applicants have their genitalia inspected as well to check for disease.

The virginity tests, however, are far more invasive. A health professional inserts two fingers inside the woman’s vagina to see if her hymen is still intact.

Human Rights Watch interviewed numerous applicants who described the test as painful and humiliating.

One recruit said,

Entering the virginity test examination room was really upsetting. I feared that after they performed the test I would not be a virgin anymore. It really hurt. My friend even fainted because… it really hurt, really hurt.

The spokesperson disagreed by saying, All of this is done in a professional manner and [does] not harm the applicants.

A former police chief of personnel vowed to eliminate the tests in 2010, but that promise proved empty.

The tests have been performed for decades, with one retired officer remembering her entire recruitment class undergoing them in 1965.

Human Rights Watch was even more shocked to learn that Indonesia’s police force is currently trying to hire 50 percent more females by December, bringing female enrollment to just 5 percent of the 400,000 officers.

Nisha Varia, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch, told the Guardian,

So-called virginity tests are discriminatory and a form of gender-based violence — not a measure of women’s eligibility for a career in the police.

This pernicious practice not only keeps able women out of the police, but deprives all Indonesians of a police force with the most genuinely qualified officers. Egypt, India and Afghanistan have been reported to engage in similar practices.

An Indonesian education board also tried to make the tests a requirement for girls entering high school last year.