JUDY WOODRUFF
As the debate continues in the U.S. over reproductive rights, in the Republic of Mongolia, teenage girls are fighting not to be subjected against their will to so-called virginity tests in schools. The practice was officially banned by the government last year, but it continues nevertheless. This story was produced in collaboration with The Global Press Journal. It's an international news organization that trains local women journalists in the world's least-covered places. Stephanie Sy has the story.
STEPHANIE SY
In the hinterlands of Mongolia, young girls are made to go through vaginal exams at school, ostensibly to see if they have had sexual intercourse. Doctors perform the invasive exams by order of school administrators, without the permission of the students or even their parents. KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI,
Global Press Journal (through translator)
Did they have your consent to do this?
STUDENT (through translator)
No, they don't ask for consent. They just say go.
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
What happens when you do not consent?
STUDENT (through translator)
If we don't agree, our teacher says we have to, that no one should be left unexamined. We're just scolded and forced to do it anyway.
STEPHANIE SY
She is just one of the girls still being subjected to virginity tests, even after the government of Mongolia banned the practice last year. The ban was in response to student-led protests and pressure from the United Nations, which, in 2018, condemned the practice and declared it an act of violence that degrades teenage girls. Some 20 countries still implement virginity tests, according to the U.N. An investigation by Mongolian journalist Khorloo Khukhnokhoi with Global Press Journal found the practice has continued in rural schools with impunity.
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
Have you in your friends been able to speak to your family about this? Is there also a fear of stigma?
STUDENT (through translator)
I do not talk to my family about it. I'm afraid of the stigma. So I go along with the test. If you don't, many people will gossip about it. And you just keep being insulted all the time.
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
Are you and your friends subjected to bullying, teasing and humiliation after these tests are conducted? What's the environment like in school?
STUDENT (through translator)
If you don't, people think you are pregnant. I had one friend who said she wouldn't do the test. And the thing is, she was pregnant. She wanted to keep it a secret. But our teacher discovered it eventually. So the rumor spread, and she was bullied a lot by other students. The whole school insulted her terribly. Finally, she moved to another school.
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
What made you want to speak up about this?
STUDENT (through translator)
We don't want to go through these girls examinations. They tell us, you have to do it. That is why I wanted people to know about it, to raise my voice on this issue.
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
Last year, there was an uproar after the story came out about these tests, and these tests were officially banned. Does the school administration not fear any action being taken against them?
STUDENT (through translator)
School administrators are not worried about it, because no action has been taken against them, as far as I know, even if they are still conducting girls examinations.
STEPHANIE SY
Reporter Khorloo spoke with the "NewsHour" from the Capitol city, Ulaanbaatar. In your reporting, what have you found about how many schools in Mongolia are still implementing this invasive medical exam?
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
I found out that at least 10 schools around the country have reported undergoing virginity tests. And I found out this information from students and doctors in school administration
during my reporting. STEPHANIE SY
What do schools and principals of those schools say to justify giving girls this exam?
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
So they claim that the exams actually prevent teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and that, right now, the abortion rate is quite high. But there's no actual data to back up their claims.
STEPHANIE SY
So what is the point of these exams?
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
So the government claims that the main purpose of these virginity tests is that they want to come up with the exact numbers and data to keep a check on how many abortions and unwanted pregnancies are happening.
STEPHANIE SY
I know that there have been a lot of protests in the country over these exams. How much pressure is the government under right now to ban the exams altogether?
KHORLOO KHUKHNOKHOI (through translator)
So, the activists are calling for a complete ban on virginity tests. Even though the government had restricted the conduct of these exams in the school environment last year, some schools are still doing it secretly. So that means that the measure is still not effective. And so they say they will continue fighting, and they are educating the victims to protest against this violation of human rights. I interviewed many girls during my reporting, and they all said they went through the exam without any consent. Right after class, they're forced to go to the doctor's office and just have to get their vagina screens there. They told me how physically and mentally challenging it is for them. It leaves them traumatized. They have to stay in line outside the doctor's office, take off their clothes. Some girls actually cried during the interview, and it was quite a hard moment.
STEPHANIE SY
Khorloo says they were willing to talk and relive the trauma, so that other girls would not have to endure what they did.
STUDENT (through translator)
No one has the right to touch our bodies without her consent. No one should be allowed to take girls' clothes off in school for this examination. It's a violation of our human rights. Every voice is important, especially the girls and their families. Everyone needs to speak up.
STEPHANIE SY
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.
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