Restore Virginity !! Tests "to detect virginity" are sold in British clinics
A BBC investigation has found that UK clinics are offering women a controversial "virginity test".
The World Health Organization and the United Nations consider these tests, which violate a woman's body, as a violation of human rights, and calls for their prevention. Critics of this procedure also say that it is not based on any scientific basis and cannot prove virginity, and that it may be a form of assault on the body.
The procedure includes an examination of the vagina to ensure the integrity of the hymen.
The BBC's two teams that conducted the investigation, the News House team and 100 women, revealed that there are a number of private clinics in Britain that, upon contact, advertise "virginity reform" services, and then make a proposal for the so-called virginity tests, whose cost ranges between 150 £ 300
The BBC identified 21 clinics, and contacted 16 of them to inquire about these tests. Seven clinics confirmed that they were indeed offering "virginity tests," while the rest of the clinics did not provide clear answers.
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| Toolkit sold online under the pretext of "virginity restoration" |
The clinics said they perform hymen repair surgeries, which cost between £ 1500-3000.
According to data released by the British National Health Service (NHS) in England, 69 operations of hymen repair have been performed during the past five years.
The BBC heard the story of a woman who sought refuge in the Karma Nirvana charity, which provides support for victims of so-called honor killings or forced marriage.
The woman said, "The emotional relationship that I had with my family was bad because my parents wanted me to get married through an arranged marriage."
"Running away was my only option."
She added that one of the elderly people in their neighborhood saw her once with her friends, and told her mother that one of the boys was her lover.
Rumors about this began spreading in the region, so its people threatened to resort to a "virginity detection test."
"My parents, as well as the family of the man they wanted me to marry, wanted to take a virginity test to assure them that I am still a virgin in order to go through with that marriage. I was very scared and did not really understand what that meant. I felt that running away was my only choice, and this is what I did."
Priya Manotta is the helpline of the Karma Nirvana Association, and she says, "We are getting calls from girls who are concerned about this. He may be worried that the family might know that they are in a relationship with someone or that they are not virgins. The family may be forcing the girl to Take this test and be concerned about the result. "
She adds, "The fact that a girl is in a relationship with someone, or that she chooses her life partner herself, or that she enters an intimate or sexual relationship, may cause her to be assaulted out of honor or forcibly married to someone. We know in the association many victims who were killed in some cases, while she was acquitted. Family of girls in other cases. "
It is known that virginity tests are conducted in at least 20 countries, according to the World Health Organization, which says that there is no evidence that can prove whether the girl has had sex or not, because it is easy to tear the hymen for many reasons such as using Tampons during the menstrual cycle, and because of some sports.
Last year, American rapper T.I. caused a wave of anger after admitting on a Broadcast episode that he took his daughter every year for an examination to ensure the integrity of her hymen.
False forceps and blood
The BBC also found a kit sold over the internet for £ 50, under the pretext that it fixes virginity. While the price of one of these sets reached 104 pounds and was imported from Germany. This pack contains ointment to tighten the vagina in a 60-mile package, plastic tweezers, a blood capsule and three envelopes that appear to contain artificial blood. There are no instructions for how to use these tools.
Ashfaq Khan, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, says he often receives requests from his patients about virginity tests and hymen repair.
"I don’t understand why this issue is not illegal in Britain. This act should be criminalized. The idea that no part of the hymen is present means that a woman is not a virgin is a wrong idea in the first place. It may rupture for several reasons."
"If I tell you that it is torn and that I have to fix it and give the girl a certificate, then this means that I give a forged certificate."
"For me this is a crime."
The doctor also believes that action is needed to stop this practice.
"(We must deal with it) as we deal with the issue of circumcision, which world leaders are shining a wonderful light on. For me, this is another crime and we associate ourselves with an ethically wrong practice," he says.
At the beginning of the year, the "Middle East Women and Society" organization launched a campaign to ban virginity tests and called for awareness-raising on this topic.
"Although our goal is to prevent hymen repair operations, preventing this procedure without providing adequate knowledge about it will lead to harm that outweighs the size of the benefit. The only reason for the existence of this trade is reactionary mentalities regarding the issue of virginity," said organization founder Hilala Tahiri. ".
"If we can educate our communities and reflect this belief, then there will be no need to restore the hymen. This trade will end," she says.
BBC
