http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/jan_feb98/islamic.html

The Turkish government is campaigning to ban a bible-based, Moslem-sanctified practice of virginity exams for young women, following the attempted suicides of five teenaged girls in September. The girls took rat poison, then tried to drown themselves after the head of their orphanage ordered the tests when they missed curfew. The girls, ages 12-16, were forced to undergo virginity tests from their hospital beds.

Women's groups are calling for the resignation of Isilay Saygin, Women and Family Affairs Minister, after she made comments that the virginity tests are a "deterrent" and protect girls "from defamation."

In conservative sections of Turkey, relatives routinely gather outside the bedroom of a honeymoon couple to make sure the sheets are stained with blood, as prescribed in the Old Testament.

Have seen this in action, it is terrible and horrific, this is the type of thing me and Tom are on about, it really does voilate womens rights. In this modern day and age and with a country that is trying so hard to get into the EU you think that they would have outlawed this degrading practice by now.

Regards Sarah Lawrence

There have been no virginity test since 1999.
Following is an article from Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, USA
Kamil
---------
TURKEY: Law permitting virginity test for school girls is rescinded
Thursday, February 28, 2002

Turkey has rescinded a controversial law that authorized virginity tests for high school girls suspected of having premarital sex.
Forced gynecological examinations in schools were common until 1999, when five students who did not want to submit to the test attempted suicide by taking rat poison.
Many people in predominantly Muslim Turkey believe women should not have sex before marriage, but the testing practice drew harsh criticism from human rights and women's groups. The government ordered a halt to the tests after the suicide attempts.
On Tuesday, the government made the ban official by changing a law on punishment in schools, removing ambiguous wording that allowed school administrators to "determine" whether girls were virgins. It is unclear whether any schools have conducted the tests since 1999.

He loves to cover the crimes of the Genocidal Turks

I posted a truthful, factual article that is more recent. Where is the lie, I fail to see it?

Kamil,

Kamil> This is an old story

Siamanto> First of all, it is not clear if you mean
a- The "virginity tests" is an old story
b- The press release you have posted is an old story
It seems that a) is what you are stating and that is what is assumed below.

1- Turkey is among the most corrupt countries and laws are nothing but a facade and/or a protection against the weak. I don't think the Police, the Military, politicians and the rich care much about laws and they are broken with no scruples.
2- Turkey is not a modern country where statistics and data are collected in a systematic, regular and accurate manner. The fact that there are no records indicating such "virginity tests" did occur does not indicate much. Furthermore, the Turkish authorities are known to excel in the art of hiding and/or destroying evidence, official registers and archives.
3- Women are so traumatized that they would never - or almost never - testify against the authorities and/or report such abuses and violations. Furthermore, few are aware of their rights.
4- There are always loopholes in Turkish laws and there have been attempts to re-introduce it in a different way.
See below:

4.1- From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1845784.stm

Wording changed

No such tests are thought to have been carried out since January 1999, when the justice minister ordered a halt to them, unless they were specifically ordered by a judge to provide evidence in a criminal case.

On Tuesday, the government removed ambiguous wording from a law on school punishment that allowed school administrators to "determine" whether girls were virgins.

The amendment scrapping virginity tests was published in the government newspaper, the Official Gazette.

It eliminated any reference to girls' chastity but makes a broader reference to the expulsion of students not behaving properly in school.

Last year Health Minister Osman Durmus, a member of the far-right Nationalist Action Party, caused uproar when he called for girls who were not virgins to be expelled from government-run nursing high schools and barred from enrolling in other state-run schools.

4.2- From http://wluml.org/english/alerts/2001/turkey/virginity-exams.htm

There is another statute named the "Statute of for awards and discipline in the High School Education Institutions" issued by the Ministry of Education and which came into effect as of 31 January 1995. This statute states that 'proof of unchastity" is a valid reason for expulsion from the formal educational system. Despite the ban issued by the Ministry of Justice, this statute remains to be in effect. Recently, following protests, the Ministry of Education contacted the Directorate on Women's Status, asking for their opinion on the statute. Therefore, please include the Ministry of Education in your alert.
...
We are appalled by the latest act of the Minister of Health of Turkey, which aims to bypass the ban on virginity exams (Ministry of Justice, decree no: 27/123) brought into action two years ago after many years of protest by women and women's groups in Turkey. We know that the attempts to control women's virginity until today have caused the despair and the death of many young women in the country.

The control of virginity is one of the most patriarchal tools of control of women's bodies and lives. The aim of education should be to eradicate such practices that violate women's human rights AND NOT to reinforce them.

THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT HAS NO RIGHT to interfere in young women's control of their own bodies.

The order decreed clearly violates the articles 10, 12, 20 and 42 of the Turkish Constitution, and international conventions that Turkey has signed, such as, Articles 2 and 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Articles 7, 17 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and CEDAW.


5- Last but not least, it is not about laws; it is about traditions, customs and mindsets. Laws in Turkey may change, but traditions, customs and mindsets seem to last.

Regards,
Siamanto.

What can I say chap, I can keep thanking you but it could get repetative, but any thanks once again for putting the facts into context and for sparing the time to do so, it is very much appreciated I assure you, I know how presious time really is and this little bit of yours is again warmly welcomed, especially when you seem so well informed.

You are correct and I am only quoting from Sarah, but as the other guy says the law was passed for school girls, the practice still goes on, with older women as a way of gathering evidence if they are arrested, Sarah has talked to many Turkish women who have had this happen to them in recent years, so that fact that it is still going on though it officially should not be shows the true way in which Turkey operates it's state.  Official rules to appeaze the critics, but hey chaps just ignore them keep it a little bit more quite, and carry on regardless.

Regards Tom

They will not listen to you because you are a Turk.
They will not believe you because you are a Turk.
They do not like you because you are a Turk.

They are just hypocrites pretending to 'care' about Turkish women.

Tom,

Tom> What can I say chap, I can keep thanking you but it could get repetative
Siamanto> Thank you for the kind words. I am simply doing what I think is right/I should.

Tom> hey chaps just ignore them keep it a little bit more quite, and carry on regardless.
Siamanto> At times, I used them to address the forum. Our goal is to present different facts and opinions, the form is less essential!
If it becomes repetitive or improductive, I will ignore them. Thanks.

Regards,
Siamanto.