A provincial court in Pakistan has decided that a "virginity test" has no forensic or medical basis and banned the practice for victims of rape, BBC and other sources reported Wednesday.
The ruling, welcomed by human rights groups, applies in Punjab - the country's biggest province in terms of population - and outlaws the practice of examinations.
The Lahore High Court's decision was the first to make illegal the procedure to determine if a female is a virgin.
"The procedure offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity," CNN quoted the Lahore High Court as saying in a ruling.
The method has been a long-standing tradition in many regions around the world to "assess a girl or a woman's honor or virtue," the World Health Organization said.
The virginity test is often times "painful, humiliating and traumatic" and women and girls can suffer psychological, physical and social consequences, especially in rape cases, the World Health Organization said.
The court ruled that virginity tests are a form of discrimination against women as they are made on the "basis of their gender" and therefore violates the constitution, Lahore High Court judge Ayesha Malik said. A similar petition is currently pending in Pakistan's Sindh High Court.
Premarital sex is crime in Pakistan but the nation has a high rate or rape, sexual assault and other violence against women, human rights advocates said.
