Indonesia Police Chief Defends Law That Demands ‘Virginity Tests’ For Their Female Recruits

Indonesia’s top military commander defended a requirement that female recruits undergo an invasive “virginity test” to determine whether they are morally suited for the armed forces.

His remarks follow a letter from Human Rights Watch condemning the practice.

“So what’s the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticize it?” Gen. Moeldoko was quoted by The Jakarta Globe as telling reporters on Friday.

Moeldoko “conceded, though, that there was no direct link between a woman being a virgin and her abilities as a member of the armed forces, but insisted that virginity was a gauge of a woman’s morality — one of the three key traits he said a woman must have to serve in the [Indonesia Armed Forces], along with high academic aptitude and physical strength.”

The virginity test “is a measure of morality. There’s no other way” to determine a person’s morality, Moeldoko said.

According to The Washington Post: “In Indonesia, the test is considered standard practice. Women seeking to join the military are required to strip naked and have their genitalia manually examined by a doctor, purportedly to ensure that they are virgins.”