Pakistan high court rules intrusive virginity test is unconstitutional in landmark case

The court ruling said such tests are ‘unscientific and have no medical basis’

File image: Activists hold placard to demand ban on virginity test (AFP via Getty Images)

In a major win for rights groups, a high court in Pakistan has declared unconstitutional the controversial two-finger virginity test for examination of rape and sexual assault, delivering a landmark ruling in favour of a long-pending demand.

In a 30-page judgment, Lahore High Court’s Justice Ayesha A Malik wrote that the virginity test "offends the dignity of the female victim" and was contradictory to Article 9 and Article 14 of the Constitution, which are related to the security and dignity of a person, Pakistan’s Dawn News reported.

She said such tests were unscientific, had no medical basis, and offended the personal dignity of the female victim. The court ordered authorities to immediately “ensure that virginity tests are not carried out in the medico-legal examination of the victims of rape and sexual abuse."

The two-finger test, also called the virginity test, refers to an intrusive physical examination of a woman’s vagina to determine the presence of an intact hymen in cases of sexual assault and rape. Despite strong criticism and unreliability, these tests still persist in certain areas.

Several countries have declared the discriminatory practice inhuman, including Pakistan’s neighbouring India in 2013 and Bangladesh in 2018.

Welcoming Punjab's ban, Sidra Humayun, a case manager for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, told AFP it would be a challenge to ensure compliance by medical workers. The mentality that still "links the reliability of a rape victim's claims to her virtue and honour" in legal cases also must be addressed, she added.

The court was delivering the judgment it had reserved on two public interest petitions challenging the old practice in Nov 2020. The petitions were filed by PML-N member of the National Assembly Shaista Pervez Malik and women rights activists, academics, journalists and advocates, according to Dawn News.