LHC bans invasive test for rape victims
- The court asked authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that the test is not conducted as part of legal or medical examinations of the victims of rape and sexual abuse.
- "In the detailed judgement by Justice Ayesha Malik, it has been held that the practice of virginity testing is unscientific and has no forensic value in cases of sexual violence, " say petitioners.
Lahore High Court on Monday banned the archaic "two-finger" test carried out by medical examiners to determine whether a woman was raped.
The verdict was announced after hearing of interest petitions challenging virginity testing in Punjab province.
The court asked authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that the test is not conducted as part of legal or medical examinations of the victims of rape and sexual abuse.
"In the detailed judgement by Justice Ayesha Malik, it has been held that the practice of virginity testing is unscientific and has no forensic value in cases of sexual violence," Arab News quoted the petitioners.
"These virginity tests have been declared unconstitutional, against the right to life and dignity and discriminatory and therefore contrary to Articles 9, 14, and 25 of the Constitution," read the judgment.
The United Nations and women rights activists have for year raised voice against the test, terming it painful, inaccurate and a violation of human rights.
On the other hand, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the test "unscientific, medically unnecessary and unreliable."
Neighbouring India banned the test in 2013 and Bangladesh in 2018.
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