CAIRO, (Reuters) – An Egyptian civilian court ordered the army yesterday to end forced virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons, and the woman who won the legal victory urged other victims to press charges against the army.
Activists said the verdict was a victory for civilian courts over generals who took charge when Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power by a popular revolt in February.
The ruling also adds pressure on the army to hold to account troops who have been rebuked by Egyptians and major aid donor the United States over the treatment of women during protests.
“I am very happy. This is the first round with the military council and we will win the next rounds, God willing,” Samira Ibrahim, who defied taboos in a conservative Muslim country to raise the case over the tests, told Reuters.
Ibrahim had said she and six other women were forced to undergo tests to see if they were virgins in March after they were arrested during a protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Ibrahim, from the conservative southern city of Sohag, was referred to a military court four days after her arrest. She was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term for insulting authorities, joining an illegal assembly and breaking a curfew.
“I wish I could win the case against the lieutenant who did the test,” said Ibrahim. “They can say what they want, … I want him to be executed, he and anyone who gave him orders.”
The army also drew fierce criticism this month during protests when women were beaten. Notably, one woman was filmed being dragged by two soldiers as she lay on the ground, her bra and torso were exposed and another soldier stamped on her.
“I tell female activists go to the square and don’t be afraid, this is our square after the scandal the council spread all over the world … I ask all girls who were abused to file cases against the council,” Ibrahim said.
Washington, which gives Egypt’s military $1.3 billion a year in aid, issued a stinging rebuke of the handling of protests this month. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to “systematic degradation” of women that “disgraces the state and its uniform.”
