Alleged virginity tests on Indian brides under probe

By Harmeet Shah Singh

CNN

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) - India's federal woman rights watchdog has launched a probe into reports that "virginity tests" were conducted on would-be-brides for a mass wedding in a state governed by Hindu nationalists.

But a district magistrate said the tests were simply "clinical examinations" that were initiated after one of the brides gave birth at a previous mass wedding.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also sought a report from the government and police of Madhya Pradesh state, its spokeswoman Kareena B. Thengamam told CNN.

She said the NCW had become aware of reports that some 150 brides-to-be, mostly tribal women, were subject to "virginity tests" before their mass wedding on June 30 as part of a state government scheme.

The watchdog has also formed an inquiry committee of its own.

State authorities, however, denied conducting any virginity tests, but insisted they were "just clinical examinations" before the event.

The district magistrate of Shahdol, where the mass wedding took place, said 13 women were found to be pregnant in the examinations, which he claimed followed "routine" questioning about their age and health.

"Another was found to be minor (underage)," Neeraj Dubey added.

District officials introduced clinical examinations on women wanting to get married in the mass weddings after a participant delivered a baby right at the event earlier, he said.

"But there is no internal examination; it's only abdomen check and that too after some questioning," he claimed.

The state government organizes mass weddings involving economically-backward couples, with support worth $130 for each pair, Dubey explained. The support is not in cash, but in the form of household articles.