<p> A court in Pakistan's most populous province on Monday outlawed virginity tests on rape victims -- a longstanding practice in the country used to assess a woman's so-called honour.</p>.<p>Critics of the tests, including an invasive "two-finger test", had filed petitions in the eastern city of Lahore in a bid to have them outlawed.</p>.<p>The World Health Organization has previously said that there is no scientific merit to the examinations and considers them a human rights violation.</p>.<p>Declaring them illegal, Lahore High Court said a virginity test "offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity".</p>.<p>Proponents of virginity tests claim they can assess a woman's sexual history, with the results often used to discredit rape victims.</p>.<p>Much of Pakistani society operates under an oppressive system of honour, in which rape victims face social stigma and assaults are vastly underreported.</p>.<p>The ruling was a "much needed step in the right direction of improving the investigative and judicial processes and making them fairer for victims of sexual assault and rape," a statement released by the lawyers behind the petition said.</p>.<p>Pakistan's president had already moved to ban the two-finger virginity test -- an invasive examination which involves a medical examiner inserting two fingers into a woman's vagina -- in December as part of a new anti-rape law.</p>.<p>But it allowed for visual inspections of the hymen to assess tearing and scars to continue.</p>.<p>The Lahore High Court ruling banning all forms of virginity testing will apply to Punjab province and is the first of its kind in Pakistan</p>.<p>A similar case is being heard in the Sindh High Court and women's rights activists hope the Lahore court ruling will set a precedent for a nationwide ban.</p>.<p>Neighbouring India banned the two-finger test in 2013 and Bangladesh followed suit in 2018.</p>
<p> A court in Pakistan's most populous province on Monday outlawed virginity tests on rape victims -- a longstanding practice in the country used to assess a woman's so-called honour.</p>.<p>Critics of the tests, including an invasive "two-finger test", had filed petitions in the eastern city of Lahore in a bid to have them outlawed.</p>.<p>The World Health Organization has previously said that there is no scientific merit to the examinations and considers them a human rights violation.</p>.<p>Declaring them illegal, Lahore High Court said a virginity test "offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity".</p>.<p>Proponents of virginity tests claim they can assess a woman's sexual history, with the results often used to discredit rape victims.</p>.<p>Much of Pakistani society operates under an oppressive system of honour, in which rape victims face social stigma and assaults are vastly underreported.</p>.<p>The ruling was a "much needed step in the right direction of improving the investigative and judicial processes and making them fairer for victims of sexual assault and rape," a statement released by the lawyers behind the petition said.</p>.<p>Pakistan's president had already moved to ban the two-finger virginity test -- an invasive examination which involves a medical examiner inserting two fingers into a woman's vagina -- in December as part of a new anti-rape law.</p>.<p>But it allowed for visual inspections of the hymen to assess tearing and scars to continue.</p>.<p>The Lahore High Court ruling banning all forms of virginity testing will apply to Punjab province and is the first of its kind in Pakistan</p>.<p>A similar case is being heard in the Sindh High Court and women's rights activists hope the Lahore court ruling will set a precedent for a nationwide ban.</p>.<p>Neighbouring India banned the two-finger test in 2013 and Bangladesh followed suit in 2018.</p>