In a letter to authorities including Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Monday, Beijing Yirenping Center (BYC), a public welfare organization, proposed that gynecological examinations be removed from the physical exams for civil service recruitment, Beijing Times reported Tuesday.

The organization said that the exams were a violation of women's privacy and dignity, and a discrimination against female staff.

"Gynecological examinations involve private parts of a woman's body, and the related information should not be known by others except for the purpose of medical care," said Wu Rongrong, a staff member of BYC.

The letter also added that the exams did not have any direct relation with the future work of civil service.

Yang Zhanqing, chief of BYC, said the everyday contact in the workplace did not lead to the spread of STD, one of the reasons behind the exams. Furthermore, most STD did not affect civil servants' work.

Xiaoli (not her real name), who was recruited as a civil servant in Guangdong province last year, said many female colleagues felt ashamed or unhappy about it but had to swallow the insult when receiving the exams. "My privacy was violated, but I couldn't do anything."

"The standard of physical examination in civil service recruitment should reflect gender equality," said Ke Qianting, an associate professor at Sun Yat-sen University, who said revising or abolishing such exams could be significant.

However, Wu Mingjiang, vice-chairperson of the Chinese Medical Association, said women may have to receive more examinations than men due to their physical differences. "It has nothing to do with gender discrimination and privacy invasion."