KABUL (SW) – The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has called for an "unconditional ban" on virginity examinations.
A day earlier, the Cabinet Law Committee, chaired by Mohammad Sarwar Danesh, the second vice president, decided that it is not permissible to conduct the test without the consent of the woman and a competent court ruling, and those who violate this decision will be sentenced to prison.
However, the AIHRC said that in order to protect the human dignity of women and to respect international human rights and medical standards in this area, such tests should be banned.
Previously, the Afghan government had decided that the women's virginity test would be performed only on the basis of a competent court order. But, a new ruling by the law committee states that the test is subject to the woman's consent and the court's ruling is amended.
The second vice president has instructed the Ministry of Justice to implement the decision of the Committee on the tests in the draft amendment of some articles of the Penal Code and submit it to the cabinet for finalization.
ENDS
