Before I get to what it is I want to say, I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not some women's rights activist. I merely have something to say about a certain issue.

Living in this part of the world means that I have to deal with people with the most appalling opinions and beliefs on every topic there is. However, there was one that really caught my eye.

In the Egyptian community, a woman's most prized possession is her "purity" or, to make this as blunt as possible, her virginity. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree with that opinion, yet I must address a handful of issues.

First, I find it a mystery how people can be so preoccupied by a thin layer of mucus; the Hymen. Some people are so uneducated about sex that they have inherited old wives tales such as that which said that the blood expelled on a virgin's first time smells like musk. Another amusing superstition says that the more you bleed, the purer you are, which can literally break up a marriage because a newly wed groom might think his bride is not as pure as she should be.

Second, I usually hear this whenever I eavesdrop on any two guys talking: "Yeah, I've picked a really pretty virgin to be my wife." "How do you really know? Maybe she had an operation!"
As for that, I'd like to say one thing. According to Egypt's leading sexologist, Dr. Heba Kotb, a hymen restoration such as the one referred to in the previous quotation is only good for 48 hours. So you be the judge. Where will a woman find a doctor, book an OR, have an operation, recover under observation in the hospital all within 2 days of the wedding night. I find it highly unpractical, and difficult to achieve without anyone taking notice. Even if the operation goes undetected, the slightest bump to the area can and will cause the implant to fall, due to its fragile nature.

Finally, the most important issue I'd like to address. The subject of rape.
It really makes me sad that I live in a country where not only would a man refuse to marry a woman that has been raped with the excuse that "someone has already had her.", but a man would have no trouble whatsoever to completely abandon his fiancee or girlfriend after such an incident, hiding behind the same lame excuse.

I just want to ask, is this the scale by which we measure purity and honour? I'm trying to say that we should not stress the presence of a piece of mucus, but we should concentrate on what that thing actually means; what it represents!

I'd like to end this with a sort of disclaimer. I don't want to be bashed and flamed for praising sex before marriage. I'm a traditional guy with pretty conservative views. I plan to marry a virgin, and I am one myself. But I just wanted to say that sometimes people go a little to far with things like this.

waiting for your feedback...