On January 5, 2021, the Punjab province of Pakistan voted to outlaw the common tradition of virginity tests. The tests involve those conducting them to manually insert two fingers into a woman’s vagina to check for an intact hymen. In the case of victims of rape, a court-appointed medical examiner conducts these tests. Some also refer to virginity tests as the “two-finger test.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the test has no scientific basis and is both painful and traumatic. The eradication of these tests marks a momentous advancement towards gender equality in Pakistan.

Justice Ayesha A Malik of the Lahore High Court is the first person to order the immediate suspension of these tests. While the procedure is not legally mandated, it was a routine practice in rape cases. According to The News International, reports occur of at least 11 rape cases in Pakistan each day, and victims do not report cases in many instances. Of the 22,000 reports of rape in Pakistan in the last six years, only 0.3% of the perpetrators have received a conviction.

Premarital sex is a crime in Pakistan. As a result, the purpose of the test is to discredit victims based on their suspected sexual history. According to the Humanitarian Response, the procedure tests the laxity of the vagina to determine whether a woman was sexually active before the rape occurred. Furthermore, the outcome of virginity tests has a significant impact on judicial proceedings, with the results often leading to acquittals and a loss of credibility to victims.

Justice Malik states that women suspected of indulging in sexual activities habitually received harsh judgment before the courts, and the courts often discounted their abuse. These tests often have physical, mental and social repercussions. Virginity tests often aggravate injuries that women sustain during the rape. Women undergo exposure to the harmful stigma of dishonor and shame that this trauma brings onto their families.

Sahar Bandial, a lawyer in Pakistan, advocated for the establishment of new protocols to protect women from legal abuse and discrimination. The banishment of virginity tests as a means to control women is only the first step in achieving gender equality. Women often have to take a virginity test before marriage and employment. Historically, virginity tests have never had scientific justification. The color of urine, shaping of the nipples or the circumference of a women’s forehead are examples that have forced the taking of such tests.