Calls for "virginity tests" on school girls in Indonesia-Time

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8/29/13, "Virginity Tests’ Throw Spotlight on Indonesia’s Conflicted Sexual Morality," Time, Yenni Kwok

"A small-town education chief in Indonesia made headlines last week after he reportedly planned to impose mandatory virginity tests on female students entering high school. He cited concerns over premarital sex and teen prostitution as the reason. But H.M. Rasyid, the Education Agency chief of Prabumulih, a town in South Sumatra province, wasn’t saying anything Indonesians hadn’t heard before.

In recent years, other figures have argued for virginity tests — an invasive, humiliating procedure that is based on pseudo science — including a provincial legislator in eastern Sumatra in 2010 and a district chief in western Java in 2007. Both proposals were withdrawn after public outrage, but some conservative politicians and religious figures* remain in favor of the idea. Says Masruchah, deputy chair of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (and who, like many Indonesians, uses one name): “They have no understanding about human rights. They are more worried about image.” The commission called virginity tests “a form of sexual violence against women.”

(MORE: Indonesian City to Prohibit Women Passengers From Straddling Motorcycles)

In the wake of widespread condemnation, Rasyid has backtracked. He now claims he only meant to support the parents of a girl who wanted to rebut accusations that their daughter, a victim of a human-trafficking ring, was no longer a virgin.

But regardless whether Rasyid’s proposal was intended for one or many female students, the latest call for virginity tests highlights the country’s increasing anxiety over sexual issues, and, as in many conservative societies,* women are the focus....

“Unmarried girls who aren’t virgins are deemed immoral, when in fact they could be victims of abuse,” says Masruchah. “And victims may get blamed and victimized again.” This happened last year to a 14-year-old girl who was expelled from school after surviving kidnapping and rape by traffickers, because she had “tarnished the school’s image.” The private school in Depok, outside Jakarta, reversed its decision after a public backlash."...

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*Comment: Time speaks of "conservative politicians and religious figures
" and "many conservative societies" in Indonesia. Do they mean Muslims? Apparently the town is predominantly Muslim.

Entirely separate from Time Magazine's shyness, I noticed this letter about the case which doesn't change what the school did or plans for "virginity testing." The letter says the town is predominantly Muslim though the young girl in question was Christian. The letter writer was told that after the girl's ordeal, a number of her Muslim neighbors were very supportive of her. The Jakarta Globe had mentioned the girl going to "church." That would make her unique in her neighborhood as most would be going to a mosque including the "conservatives"ordering "virginity tests." From Jakarta Globe article linked in Time, 5 sentences from end:

"The girl had told her parents she was going to church on Sept. 23, but she failed to return home that day, nor in the days that followed."...

Here's the link to the letter:

4/24/13, "Insensitivity, Victimisation and Compassion"


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