Daily Times

The Lahore High Court has termed the two-finger and hymen tests in rape cases as illegal and unconstitutional.

Justice Ayesha A Malik, a judge of LHC, announced the 30-page verdict on Monday in a petition challenging the virginity tests of rape survivors.

The verdict stated that the testing methods are “unscientific having no medical basis, therefore it has no forensic value in cases of sexual violence.” According to the judgement, the practice goes against the right to life and right to dignity enshrined in Article 9 and 14 of the Constitution, and that it “offends the personal dignity of the female victim.”

It was also ruled as being discriminatory against the female victim as they were carried out on the basis of their gender that offends Article 25 of the Constitution. “Consequently to the extent that the 2020 guidelines, SOPs, and the 2015 instructions that mandate the two-finger test or the hymen test for the purposes of ascertaining the virginity of the victim have been declared illegal and against the Constitution,” the judgement read.

The judge directed the provincial government to take necessary steps to ensure that the practice of such virginity tests is banned from the medico-legal examination of the rape and sexual abuse survivors.

The judgement also ordered the provincial government to devise appropriate medico-legal protocols and guidelines, along with SOPs, in line with international practice that recognise and manage sensitively the care of the victims.

“This includes regular training and awareness programmes so that all stakeholders understand that virginity tests have no clinical or forensic value,” the verdict concluded.

In October, 2020, the Federal Ministry of Law raised objections to subjecting the female victims of rape and sexual assault to the virginity test and said the test is in violation of the Article 14 of the Constitution. The virginity test is the practice and process of determining whether a woman is a virgin – I.e. whether she has ever engaged in, or been subjected to, sexual intercourse.

The Law Ministry has given written instructions to Additional Attorney General (AAG) Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan about its stance on the test – also called the two-finger test, stating that the test is inconclusive.