A recently released report published by Human Rights Watch commission in Afghanistan, found that women and girls in Afghanistan accused of “moral crimes”, are frequently forced to undergo unscientific virginity tests.
Moral Crimes refer to sex outside marriage, or running away from home.
The commission interviewed 53 women and girls, some as young as 13, who had been accused of having sex outside marriage, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in the country.
48 of these women, admitted that they had been subjected to the gynecological exams, and the large majority of them said they were forced into virginity tests by government doctors, 20 of them were examined more than once.
“Since gynecological tests are conducted without consent of the victim, it can be considered sexual harassment and human rights violation,” the Commission said.
The report added that the tests are often carried out in presence of male guards and others and amount to “torture”.