Only virgins are said to be able to defend their lands. There is heated debate in Indonesia about this rule. However, there is no end in sight to the controversial military practices.
Jakarta – There is new discussion in Indonesia about the controversial practice of verifying the virginity of female soldiers before recruiting them.
The military of the Southeast Asian country traditionally uses a so-called two-finger test to determine whether a candidate has already been sexually active. The rule is that only virgins are mentally suited to serve their country with a weapon. After the Army Chief of Staff, General Andika Perkasa, declared in July that the same rules should apply to women and men, human rights activists are calling for the practice to be lifted across the military.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) welcomed Perkasa’s words and called the virginity tests “abusive, unscientific and discriminatory” in a communication. The procedure should have been abolished 50 years ago, said Andreas Harsono from HRW Indonesia on Friday the German press agency. “The air force and the navy should follow suit if they want to be civilized organizations.”
Perkasa said in July that “health tests that are irrelevant for the purpose of recruitment should be abolished”. The spokesman for the armed forces of the island state, Djawara Whimbo, told the dpa that the investigation of virginity remains part of the requirements for a military career. Soldiers’ fiancés would also have to undergo the tests. “The rules have not changed.” Men and women are different. “Some women are prone to cervical cancer,” stressed Whimbo, without explaining the statement. dpa
