The Indonesian government isn’t the only one in the world that forces women to undergo discriminatory virginity tests, but at the moment it’s the one getting heat from human rights activists worldwide.

In a new report, the Human Rights Watch points out the “discriminatory and degrading” nature of the tests, which typically involve a “two-finger test” to see if a woman’s hymen is still intact. Though the procedure is usually done by female medical officers, it’s still an unnecessary and outdated practice that only causes humiliation for the women. Men can’t really be physically tested to see if they’re still virgins, so the test specifically targets women while pretty much absolving men of any sexual acts.

“The Indonesian National Police’s use of ‘virginity tests’ is a discriminatory practice that harms and humiliates women,” Nisha Varia, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Police authorities in Jakarta need to immediately and unequivocally abolish the test, and then make certain that all police recruiting stations nationwide stop administering it.”

According to the HRW report, Indonesia’s National Police website states that “In addition to the medical and physical tests, women who want to be policewomen must also undergo virginity tests. So all women who want to become policewomen should keep their virginity.” Married women are not allowed to apply for the job, and mostly women under the age of 22 are recruited.

Internationally, virginity tests are considered a violation of human rights — specifically the law against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 16 of the Convention against Torture. If that’s the case, then why is it still commonplace in Indonesia?

Part of the reason is that many Indonesians still believe that a woman’s virginity is a high prize and ought to be preserved. As a result, families place pressure on their daughters to save their virginity until they finish their studies. A virginity test is one way to threaten them to follow through on this; only through the test will the girl understand the consequences of being “immoral.”

“She could not be easily influenced, coaxed and surrender herself to her boyfriend or other parties seeking advantage of teenage girls,” Bambang Bayu Suseno, a local councilor and father of three daughters, told the Jakarta Post. “Because, if she is later tested, and it turns out that she is no longer a virgin, she knows the consequences that she could not continue her studies.”

This is inherently discriminatory and sexist, because there is no way for men to be tested for virginity — and apparently no one is too worried about "boys doing what boys do." Lost virginity is only immoral for women.

HRW interviewed several women who underwent the process while applying for a job as a police officer. They described it as being painful, embarrassing, and degrading.

“There were 20 candidates put inside a room where we were ordered to take off our clothes within three minutes,” one woman says in the Human Rights video below. “They [the medical staff] then checked different parts of our bodies. After the physical exam, we were told to enter another room two candidates at a time, and that’s where they tested our virginity. They tested by inserting two fingers, using gel. It hurt a lot.”