Flogging, Fatwas & Fake Hymens!!

And yes, I know the title pretty much describes life in Islamic countries for women.  That is something I want to look at in the coming week or so.  For today, and according to    Elaph.com,  a capsule is being sold in Arab communities in the Middle East ~ including in Israel ~ that is inserted vaginally before the wedding night. It explodes on sexual penetration, leaking a red dye that resembles blood, thus potentially saving the woman's  'reputation' & indeed her life,  as Arabs avenge this loss of 'virtue' with the life of the woman ..... an 'honour'  killing!!!!

From Bigger Boobies to to luscious lips modern consumerist society & 'reconstructive' surgery means anything can be bought or modified, and now a Chinese-made "hymen" aims to give women back their virginity, which this last weekend MPs in Egypt have slammed as a deceitful tool that promotes vice and corruption. This 'Virginity Hymen', a device which costs only about $15, has kicked off mass debates amongst Egyptian MPs and Islamic religious 'scholars' about ways to stop it from being imported to Egypt as they fear it may encourage promiscuous behavior.

A fatwa sanctioning the harshest of punishments on those who import the hymen was issued by Dr. Abdel-Moati Bayoumi, a member of the Centre for Islamic Research (CIR), which has been slammed as unnecessary.   People who bring the artificial hymen into the country should be severely penalized,  Bayoumi, who is also a former Deputy Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee in Egypt's parliament, stated in his fatwa. They spread vice and encourage girls to engage in illicit relationships as they know they can restore their virginity, he warned. Egyptian imam, Sheikh Youssef al-Badri, agreed with Bayoumi and argued that people who import the hymen should be made an example of to others so they dont think of getting involved in the same business. A person dealing with artificial hymens should be flogged, put in jail, or deported from the country so that no one else could think of following suit, he said.

Meanwhile another CIR member, Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour, slammed Bayoumis fatwa as "ijtihad," an independent interpretation of Islamic law in order to evaluate a contemporary issue. Instead of imposing penalties on importers of artificial hymens, we should declare it is religiously illicit to import it, sell it or distribute it,  Ashour, who is also the former al-Azhar deputy chairman, told the London-based 'Asharq al-Awsat'.  We should also impose hefty fines on those import it, he added.

Dr. Mustafa al-Shakaa, also a CIR member, said it was enough to apply the commercial fraud law on this new product.   The artificial hymen involves deceit on the part of women, he told the paper. Thus importing it is fraudulent. Shakaa added that any decision concerning the artificial hymen should be preceded by meetings between Islamic scholars so they can reach a consensus on ways to deal with what he called a violation of 'Muslim honour'.  Islam forbids fornication, or sex outside of marriage.  In such traditional Islamic societies a woman's virginity is linked with family honour and is, in fact, the main cause of the majority of 'honour' killings ~ the woman's life is forfeit to satisfy the family's so-called 'honour'.

How in any way is Virginity representative of 'Virtue' or 'Honour' ?????

This,  these paeans of female virtue have never adequately explained.   But, so terrifying are their fatwa's that a whole industry has grown up ..... hymen restoration surgery, which can be carried out under a local anaesthetic at any number of private clinics.  But it is hugely expensive ~  costing at least $1,800 up to $5,000 or more   depending on specific medical or cosmetic requirements.

I'll bet it is very painful too, given the sensitivity of the area in question.  And, given the trauma that an invasive procedure involves,  the self service version seems like the answer to every Muslim girls dreams as well as assuming existential proportions in Islamic lands.   Because,  instead of trying to save the lives of these potential victims of an arbitrary 'honour',  these Arbitars of Sharia make it illegal for them to have any recourse.   I'm all for giving  'Girl Power' to those who have none!!

Real Blood is Good ....