In bizarre reports doing the rounds on the internet, women from Indonesia are reportedly undergoing "two-finger" virginity test and are expected to be "pretty" enough for being recruited. Despite the pressure from all around to end the practice, unfortunately, Indonesian women are still subject to virginity testing for being recruited as police officers. Amongst all the physical standards listed, one of the conditions for the Indonesian women is to be "pretty." Reports have it that the policewomen are often stationed in high visibility roles such as public relations. 'Two-Finger Test' or Vaginal Examinations Not to be Conducted on Rape Victims, Reiterates MHA Guideline. 

The worst part of the whole scenario is that the tests are not being recorded or are present in the books as an official requirement but are still conducted throughout the country. The tests are being disguised as a part of a "morality or physical examination". According to abc.net, Andreas Harsono from the Human Rights Watch said the Indonesian police claims that the society "will not accept a female police officer who has an active sex life or used to be a sex worker."

What is the two-finger virginity test?

A rather flawed and inconclusive test of virginity for women, a two-finger test is still practised at many places despite various objection. The test involves inserting two fingers into the vagina to check if the woman's hymen is still intact. It is done to determine if she has never engaged in, or been subjected to, sexual intercourse. The flawed assumption that the test is based on is the that the hymen can only be torn as a result of sexual intercourse sans the fact that many other reasons could cause the breakage of the hymen.

The 'test' is widely considered controversial for various reasons. Apart from being unethical and invasive, it is also mentally harassing for women to be subject to such a test. In some cases that suspect rape or child sexual abuse, a detailed examination of the hymen may be performed, however, the broken hymen alone cannot stand as proof.

Indonesia officially doesn't allow virginity testing after pressure from international human rights groups over the years. However, a study published this year by Sharyn Graham Davies from the Auckland University of Technology found otherwise. The study found out that vaginal and hymen examinations to still be a crucial part of police recruitment to which the justifications given are based on the morality of the women.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 20, 2018 03:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).