Court orders stop on virginity tests that sparked outrage

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An Egyptian court today ordered the country's army to stop forced virginity tests on women detainees which the military claimed were performed so that they do not later claim they were raped.

The court ruled in favour of one Samira Ibrahim who was protester at the iconic Tahrir Square.

She took the army to court over the practice, condemned by rights groups as 'torture'.

The lawsuit was filed by Samira Ibrahim in the Supreme Egyptian Court. She claims she was subject to one. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces did not deny the incident.

It said it performed them so that the girls do not later claim they were raped.

Samira is a veiled 25-year old Egyptian girl. She was coming from her town village to the capital on January 25 when she was caught in the protests.

Ever since that day she became involved in politics.

On March 9, Samira was protesting at Tahrir when a group of females were arrested by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and taken to the Egyptian museum.

According to Samira's recorded testimony, she was beaten in front of artifacts and statues of her ancient ancestors.

Later she was moved to a military prison where she was checked to make sure her virginity was intact. Samira filed her lawsuit requesting the court to declare such a practice unconstitutional since all Egyptian citizens should be equal in front of the law and such a gender is gender biased.

In her clip on you-tube she says: "When I filed the complaint I began receiving threat phone calls asking me to waiver the lawsuit. If I had given in and withdrew the lawsuit then this would have happened to any other Egyptian girl."