Virginity Tests Ruled Illegal

(Photo: Xinhua)

Forced “virginity tests” on female detainees arrested in Tahrir Square during a protest on 9 March were ruled illegal in Egypt yesterday. Aly Fekry, head of the Cairo administrative court decreed that what happened to Samira Ibrahim and six other detainees was illegal and any similar occurrence in the future would also be considered illegal. 

In March, after protesters returned to the Tahrir Square against the slow pace of reform under the interim military government, hundreds were arrested and tortured. Among them were seven women who were beaten, given electric shocks and the worst of all, subjected to a horrifying ordeal, “virginity tests”.

Samira Ibrahim, a 25-year-old marketing manager told her story to Human Rights Watch, saying “Two men in military uniform came into the cell… When it was my turn they took me to a bed in a passageway in front of the cell. There were lots of soldiers around and they could see me… A man in military uniform examined me with his hand for several minutes. It was painful. He took his time.”

At first, the authorities denied such practice but one senior general had an interview with CNN on 31 May and said the virginity checks were done. He claimed the tests were necessary saying, “We didn’t want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren’t virgins in the first place. None of them were (virgins). ”  

Ms Ibrahim was the only one among the seven women who filed a formal sexual assault complaint. With the help of human rights lawyers, she first fired the complaint on 23 June. Since then, she has received death threats along with other public backlash, a result of the social stigma associated with sexual abuse in Egypt.

Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch said to Public Radio International, “Most of the women who’ve been subjected to these forced virginity tests have not wanted to come forward. Egypt remains a very conservative society and even talking about the fact that these virginity tests took place is very difficult for young women.”

Ms Ibrahim said that she made the decision to come forward so that other women would not have to go through what she did. After the verdict, she celebrated the court ruling by smiling at cameras and flashing the victory sign. On Twitter she posted, “Thank you to the people, thank you to Tahrir Square that taught me to challenge, thank you to the revolution that taught me perseverance.”

Lee Miyoung-hiyoun EnjoyMiracle@theasian.asia