A Step Toward Ending 'Virginity Exams' in Afghanistan

Expand A demonstrator attends a rally outside the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, Belgium, October 5, 2016. © 2016 Reuters A new policy in Afghanistan promises to bar government health workers from engaging in the abusive practice of forcing women and girls to undergo invasive and medically meaningless vaginal and anal exams to determine whether they are “virgins.” The policy was announced by the Ministry of Public Health in July. “Virginity examinations” are a routine part of criminal proceedings in Afghanistan. When women or girls are accused of “moral crimes” such as sex outside of…

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