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| By: israelinsider staff and partners |
| Published: May 3, 2007 |
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Reuters reports that a growing trend among Muslim women is to have hymens re-sewn, technically making them appear to be virgins.
"I'm glad I had it done," said one woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I wanted to reconstruct part of my life, to reconstruct myself so that I could feel better about myself."
This 30-minute outpatient procedure, called "hymenoplasty," costs between 1,500 and 3,000 euros ($2,000-$4,000), and is especially popular among young women of North African descent in France. Demand has been rising for the past three or four years, surgeons report.
"Many of my patients are caught between two worlds," said Doctor Marc Abecassis. They have had sex already but are expected to be virgins at marriage according to a custom that he called "cultural and traditional, with enormous family pressure".
Abecassis said Muslims in France have been putting emphasis two customs to express their more religious identities. "Today it's the two 'V's' -- veil and virginity," he said. "It's a social phenomenon."
One woman decided to take the step before marriage. "I don't want to disappoint my fiance," she said. "I wouldn't have had the surgery if I hadn't met him."
A Muslim spokesman in France said Islam says bride and groom should be virgins before marriage, but did not take a clear stand for or against hymenoplasties.
"If someone committed a sin, the essential thing is to repent," said Lhaj Thami Breze, head of the Union of French Islamic Organisations. Repent or reconstruct.
One 19-year-old Moroccan studying in Paris admitted she was a bit naive. "I dated a boy when I was 15 and I didn't even realise what had happened," she said, referring to her first and only sexual experience. "I didn't understand what I did."
"If my mother ever found out about this, she would have a mental breakdown," Amel said. "I don't want to have this surgery, but I don't have any choice."
In other places, the choices are even more stark. Many young Muslim women are murdered in so-called honor killing for losing their virginity "prematurely."
Hymenoplasty may save their lives.
Read more from Reuters.
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