A human rights group is calling on the help of the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) to urge Indonesian president Joko Widodo to put a stop to its military's "discriminatory and invasive" practice against women.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sent letters to the ICMM, which is composed of military medical personnel from 16 member countries who will convene in Bali this coming May 17-22 for its annual world conference. HRW is requesting the ICMM to convince Widodo to end the "two-finger virginity tests" that the Indonesian military requires of its female applicants and the fiancées of its officers.
A letter sent earlier by HRW to the general surgeon of Indonesia's armed forces has received no reply.
Aside from the HRW, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) is also making the same appeal, according to BBC News.
Despite these calls, however, the Indonesian military remains firm in its stand, citing that the practice is to dissuade low morals that could "damage the military."
"If a person has low morals, then she cannot join the military. Because if she joins the military it will damage the military, which must handle a huge duty," said Fuad Basya, a spokesperson for the armed forces, ABC Australia reported.
"They are responsible for the country's sovereignty, the unity of the territory, the safety of the nation," Basya added. However, he denied that the same test is being done on future wives of its officers.
However, the HRW was able to interview 11 women, including fiancées who have undergone the virginity tests. They all described the process as "painful, embarrassing and traumatic," as reported by the organization in its website. The site also features statements from women who have hand first-hand experiences with the virginity tests.
"The ICMM should make clear to the Indonesian military that this abusive practice has no place in a job application process or an individual's choice of whom to marry and should not be inflicted under a veneer of 'military medicine,'" said Nisha Varia, director of HRW.
BBC News also reported that the World Health Organization has already regarded that the practice has no validity, having condemned the act in 2014.
