Key Points:
- A traditional practice in Pakistan to evaluate a woman’s so-called honor after an assault has come to an end after a court in Lahore, on Monday outlawed offensive examination of rape victims.
- The ‘Two-Finger’ Test, involves a medical examiner inserting 2 fingers into a woman’s vagina in order to determine the virginity of the woman.
- The High Court judges of Lahore ruled out the practice saying “offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity”.
- Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari tweeted that the decision was a “landmark judgment indeed.”
A traditional practice in Pakistan to evaluate a woman’s so-called honor after an assault has come to an end after a court in Lahore, on Monday outlawed offensive examination of rape victims.
The test – also known as the ‘Two-Finger’ Test, involves a medical examiner inserting 2 fingers into a woman’s vagina in order to determine the virginity of the woman. The procedure holds ‘No Scientific Merit’ is what the World Health Organization has said.
The High Court judges of Lahore ruled out the practice saying “offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity”. It also declared the practice illegal, saying it has “no medical basis”.
The result came after a rights activist filed a case against the practice in March and demanded it to be outlawed. A similar case is being heard in the Sindh High Court and women’s rights activists hope the Lahore court ruling will set a precedent for a nationwide ban.
India banned the “two-finger” test in 2013, and Bangladesh followed suit in 2018.
welcome decision but earlier the anti-rape ordinance already banned this test and it is applicable across the country. https://t.co/0ytxERjalY
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) January 4, 2021
The Lahore High Court in Punjab province on Monday and “offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity.”
The tests are performed for various reasons, such as before marriage or even to asses employment eligibility. But in some regions, the exam is performed on rape victims to determine whether or not a sexual assault occurred.
Women and girls can be forced into the tests, which are “often times painful, humiliating and traumatic” and can suffer psychological, physical and social consequences, especially in cases of rape, according to WHO.
Following the verdict, Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari tweeted that the decision was a “landmark judgment indeed.”
Justice Ayesha Malik's decision today is a bold and clear judgement against the demeaning and absurd "two-finger test". A landmark judgement indeed. It also strengthens the ban placed on this test in the anti-rape ordinance against the detractors.
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) January 4, 2021
