Two medical students have filed a lawsuit against their university in Netherlands’ Rotterdam, after their request for an exemption from the cross-sex physical examination was turned down.
Studying at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the two female Muslim students have been seeking an exemption from a cross-sex physical exam which involves looking at the chest, abdomen, and legs, and must be performed both by a male and female student.
Refusing examination by male, one of the two students initially applied for an exemption, but her request was denied.
The second student, who has already completed the subject, decided to support her colleague at the Board of Appeals.
After their request was rejected, they filed a case at the Board of Appeal for Higher Education in The Hague, De Volkskrant daily reported Tuesday.
David Drexhage from Erasmus MC says the practical experience student gain during such exams is important for their professional skills.
“The students also have to experience how an examination feels for a patient. That promotes understanding,” Drexhage said.
Muslims make up one million of the Netherlands’s 16 million population, mostly from Turkish and Moroccan origin.
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