Men believe in equal rights for women, but admit that they would never marry a girl who has already had sexual intercourse.
In Paris, which has always been considered one of the cities of "sin" and pleasure, very noticeable changes have been taking place recently, associated with a change in the ethnocultural composition of the population. Hymenoplasty, a branch of medicine dedicated to restoring virginity, began to flourish in the city.
Young women regularly go to an expensive Parisian clinic for a relatively inexpensive and uncomplicated operation (about 2,000 euros and half an hour under local anesthesia), which can save their lives. There are about a hundred such operations performed per week. Many of the patients who decide to undergo hymenoplasty look and behave like completely ordinary French women. But their families and suitors expect innocence from them on their wedding night. These women have one thing in common - they all once left Morocco, Syria or Afghanistan, and they are all Muslim.
Most men from Muslim communities, while declaring that they believe in equal rights for women, admit that they would never marry a girl who has already had sexual intercourse or was caught "faking her virginity." Syrian Sheikh Mohammed Habash argues that Sharia law says nothing about the virginity of the bride, and that this is not a religious but a "cultural" custom.
But isn't culture linked to religion, and is there no other cultural identity in Islam that limits women's freedom? For example, Sharia laws stipulate how a woman should dress (hiding everything that is possible, because otherwise she is a temptation - hello hijab), how she can behave (in no case be alone with a man who is not her relative or husband), can he use cosmetics, can he leave the house unaccompanied … What do all of the above have in common with the point about virginity? Control.
Sana al-Hayat, author of Honor and Shame on the life of women in modern Iraq, puts it this way: “A virgin has no experience to compare. She was not with other men and she has no one to compare her husband with. Experience makes a woman stronger."
Stronger and more independent. But since Islam views women as property, what kind of independence can we talk about?
One of the central European publications recently quoted a Muslim woman from Macedonia who said that she decided to go for hymenoplasty after an eight-year relationship with her boyfriend so that her father would not punish her: “I was afraid that my father would take me to the doctor to find out if I was a virgin. He said he could forgive anything but shame for his honor. I am not afraid that he will kill me, but I am sure that he would beat me badly. " Note that this woman is 32 years old, she lives in Frankfurt and has her own business.
Naturally, hymenoplasty for Muslim women is done not only in Paris, but throughout Europe. As one of the French doctors conducting several such operations on a weekly basis: “I am somewhat envious of my colleagues in the United States, their patients do such operations on Valentine's Day - a gift to a husband from a wife. What I do is completely different, having nothing to do with entertainment. My patients need surgery in order to find peace of mind and a husband."
And Professor Jacques Lansac, President of the National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians in France, said recently that such surgery is "an attack on the dignity of a woman, on her freedom, giving her market value and product status."In addition, in his opinion, the doctors performing the operation encroach on the constitutional separation of religion from the state. But how much is this religion actually separated from the French state? Several years ago, a French court annulled the marriage of two Muslims who had married in 2006. The reason is that the groom discovered that his bride is not a virgin. The 30-year-old engineer notified the public about his discovery rather dramatically. Leaving the wedding bed, he rushed out to the guests still having fun at the wedding and loudly announced that his bride had lied. That night, he returned her to her parents' house, and the next day he turned to a lawyer with a demand to annul the marriage. The bride, a 20-something student, confessed and agreed to cancel the wedding. The court decision did not mention the religious affiliation of the parties - it was made on the basis of a breach of contract (the bride provided deliberately false information).
Nevertheless, it was not possible to keep the religious aspect secret - it caused an active public discussion in the secular republican France. But, despite the fact that demands were made to revise the decision, two years later it remained the same and on the same grounds: the groom was not provided with the qualities necessary, from his point of view, in the bride.
I would like to ponder the hypothetical consequences of a situation in which, for example, the bride would be promised 30 centimeters of "manhood", and at the sight of only 10 on her wedding night, she would go for a cancellation, loudly announcing this to the wedding guests. It would be extremely interesting to observe both the reaction of the public and the development of the case.
Apparently, while the presence of the hymen of French women from Muslim communities will be a necessary quality for a bride, the number of hymenoplastics per week will increase, and the cost of surgery will fall (two years ago, the operation cost 2,700 euros).
In addition, the Chinese provide a much cheaper (about 23 euros) opportunity to pass for a virgin without surgery: elastic hymen with artificial blood are sold on the Internet. True, if the bride is taken before the wedding to be checked by a “family expert”, the deception will certainly be revealed. The case can also end badly if the young spouse himself finds out that he was cheated by a Chinese forgery. Therefore, it is better for European Muslim women not to save money - after all, the French national insurance partially covers the cost of hymenoplasty if the virginity was lost in the event of injury or rape. True, in 99% of cases, insurance claims of this kind are fraudulent, local experts say …
