The practice of testing the virginity of female applicants for the police force in Indonesia has been branded discriminatory and humiliating by a leading human rights organisation.

Extensive research by Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that the practice of examining whether a woman's hymen is still intact could well be "widely applied", despite senior police officials claiming that it has been discontinued.

Though women who 'failed' the test are not necessarily asked to leave the police, taking the test is listed as a requirement on the official recruitment website.

"In addition to the medical and physical tests, women who want to be policewomen must also undergo virginity tests. So all women who want to become policewomen should keep their virginity," the website said when accessed on November 5. Married women are not eligible to apply.

A spokesperson for the national police confirmed that the tests do take place, but there is no requirement for female candidates to be virgins. He said the website does not reflect police policy.

"There is a complete health test for both female and male candidates including checking reproductive organs and the virginity test for women will be a part of that routine," said Maj Gen Ronny Sompie, according to Reuters.

"But there has never has been a rule that requires policewomen to be virgins, so there is no discrimination."

He added that the test is undertaken in a "professional manner" and does not "harm the applicants".

The test has been criticised widely, however, and HRW notes that it violates international human rights laws that guarantee equality, non-discrimination and privacy.

Nisha Varia, associate women's rights director at HRW, said that contrary to Sompie's remarks, "The Indonesian National Police's use of 'virginity tests' is a discriminatory practice that harms and humiliates women".

"Police authorities in Jakarta need to immediately and unequivocally abolish the test, and then make certain that all police recruiting stations nationwide stop administering it," she said.

Yefri Heriyani, director of the women's rights group Nurani Perempuan in Padang, West Sumatra, has told of the trauma experienced by women who undergo the test. They report that it is invasive and painful, and Heriyani condemned the police force for making "no clear attempt to help them recover."

"No effort is made to help them out of their stress and trauma. Consequently, it will affect their lives in the long term. Many of them blame themselves for taking the test," she said.

HRW has called on the Indonesian police force to immediately end the practice.

"So-called virginity tests are discriminatory and a form of gender-based violence – not a measure of women's eligibility for a career in the police," Varia said.

"This pernicious practice not only keeps able women out of the police, but deprives all Indonesians of a police force with the most genuinely qualified officers."