Jakarta Globe, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, May 17, 2015
Human rights groups have urged Indonesia to abolish invasive “virginity tests” for female recruits. (Antara Photo/Didik Suhartono) |
Jakarta. A
lawmaker from the House of Representatives’ Commission I, which oversees
defense, intelligence and security affairs, has urged the Indonesian military
to rethink its invasive virginity tests for female recruits.
Tubagus
Hasanuddin, a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P), said on Sunday there was no connection between virginity and morals.
“If a
non-virgin is robbed of her right to join the military, we need to rethink it,”
he said, adding he did not condone premarital sex.
Tubagus, a
former high-ranked military official, said by law there were eight criteria
that recruits had to meet to be accepted into the Indonesian Armed Forces, or
TNI, but being a virgin was not one of them.
The
so-called two-finger test, which the TNI requires female recruits to take to
gauge their morality, has sparked international condemnation, but has been
defended by top military brass.
The
commander of Indonesia’s armed forces, Gen. Moeldoko, asked reporters on
Saturday:
“So what’s
the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticize it?”
TNI
spokesman Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya, meanwhile, said it was an appropriate part of a
medical checkup, used to determine the mental state of female recruits.
Human
Rights Watch has demanded President Joko Widodo ask military hospitals
immediately to stop administering the tests, which violate international human
rights treaties that Indonesia has ratified.
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