Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the hymen examinations were “harmful and humiliating’. Another group said they may amount to torture.

The Indonesian military has defended the tests, saying they stop immoral women from entering the armed forces.

Indonesia’s police faced criticism last year for requiring the examinations.

As well as HRW, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) also spoke out about the practice ahead of a conference on military medicine in Bali, Indonesia.

IRCT described the testing as “a gross violation of women’s rights and one that may amount to ill-treatment and torture under international law”.