Jakarta, August 11: Indonesian women. who want to join the army, will no longer have to undergo the “vigor test”. The Indonesian military has put an end to this controversial practice. Indonesian Army Chief of Staff Andika Perkasa confirmed the development to the media on Tuesday. Previously, the Indonesian military said testing was important in determining the character of recruits. The United States and Indonesia launch their “largest ever” military exercise.
“Whether the hymen was ruptured or partially ruptured was part of the examination… now there is no more of it,” the world news agency reported. Reuters quoting Andika as saying. Doctors used to perform a “two-finger test” to check the hymen of female recruits. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called it abusive and cruel. In 2014, the group opened an investigation into the case and in 2017 it renewed its calls to end the test.
Last week Andik said the selection process for men and women should be equal. Human rights activists have welcomed the move. The head of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, Andy Yentriyani, said there had never been a need for such tests. Indian Navy joins rescue operation for missing Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala-402, ships rescue vessel in deep submersion.
However, it is still unclear whether or not “virginity testing” on the applicants is underway in other service wings across the country. The Indonesian navy is said to have carried out pregnancy tests on the candidates. Meanwhile, Air Force spokesman Indan Gilang confirmed female reproduction tests had been done to look for cysts and other complications. However, he said “virginity tests” did not exist in force.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on August 11, 2021 at 10:40 p.m. IST. For more information and updates on Politics, World, Sports, Entertainment, and Lifestyle , connect to our website Latestly.com).
