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If you're a woman in a conservative Muslim country, you had better bleed on your wedding night. If you don't, your husband or his family will know you aren't a virgin. For that, you could be beaten or killed. . . .Via Instapundit and there's sickeningly more at from the L.A. Times and the Associated Press. Every blogger and his brother has already commented on this, and there's probably not much more I could say. Yet I feel that I must, even though I'm running late for an appointment in D.C. Perhaps the commenters can further elaborate on the wrongness of this situation.
The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit, distributed by the Chinese company Gigimo, costs about $30. It is intended to help newly married women fool their husbands into believing they are virgins—culturally important in a conservative Middle East where sex before marriage is considered by many to be illicit. . . . .
Innocence is a wonderful thing, but deceit is heinous. Who is the worse fool here? - The man whose obsession with bridal chastity is so extreme that he would kill his own wife if he learned she was not a virgin?
- The woman who would perpetrate an elaborate ruse in order to be considered acceptable by such a buffoon?
If this is genuinely the state of society in some places, then there is only one proper and honorable course of conduct for any woman who, for whatever reason, may have fear of this particular custom: Let her reject the proposed marriage.
Her would-be husband, if he genuinely wants her, ought to be willing to accept her as she is, however she is. Should the woman's suitor or her family demand to know the reason for her refusal, the woman is not obligated to incriminate herself by any confession of fault. Her adamant rejection could inspire suspicion that she hides a secret sin, or it might be supposed that she is merely excessively proud, and unwilling to accept a suitor she deems beneath her.
Either way, no woman should ever be compelled to accept marriage on dishonest terms.
You should have tried to make your appointment on time, all I can say is that we are surrounded by freaks.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you defined this.
ReplyDeleteNow we know how they keep paradise fully stocked with virgins. does allah get a discount for buying in bulk?
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about muslims... Arab muslims at that. Stacy, their culture isn't amenable to what you are saying. These are people who kill their women for perceived shame or loss of face, among other things, as you discovered.
ReplyDeleteSome things don't translate from culture to culture.
KG
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteYou're assuming that the woman is allowed by her family to refuse. Since the whole point is that this is happening in "conservative" Muslim countries, that's likely not to be the case.
Polliwog
You have obviously not spent time in Wahabbi influenced Muslim countries Stacy.
ReplyDeleteAnd before LGF calls me a racist (like Kejda did because I defended you)--yeah there is a heavy dose of hypocrisy in that culture (it is not a racial thing Charles, it is a cultural thing). And somehow these Wahabbis have gotten it into their heads in Saudi, Pakistan and a few other places that this sort of behavior is acceptable. It's barbaric. It isn't even Islam, but some distorted form of Islam. Unfortunatley with heavy Saudi funding (via oil dollars) that poison has spread.
But hey, let Charles "Pony Boy" Johnson lie about you being a white supramacist and Pam Geller supporting evil Belgians (well maybe Charles is right about the Belgians, because anyone who intentionally puts lambic bacteria in beer must be evil).
Women have known about the old sachet-of-pig's-blood trick for literally centuries...in many cultures, including the 'Western' ones. This is nothing new.
ReplyDeleteSlightly O/T
ReplyDeleteIs Congressman Aaron Schock gay? The boys at hillbuzz sure do think so.
http://hillbuzz.org/2009/10/01/why-doesnt-congressman-aaron-schock-just-come-out-of-the-closet-already/
http://hillbuzz.org/2009/10/07/could-congressman-aaron-schock-become-the-new-neil-patrick-harris/
"If this is genuinely the state of society in some places, then there is only one proper and honorable course of conduct for any woman who, for whatever reason, may have fear of this particular custom: Let her reject the proposed marriage."
ReplyDeleteShe can't or her dad or brother will kill her for being a slut and disgracing the family.
A doctor I worked with in Egypt told me that certificates of virginity were still part of the OB GYN business. He tells me that most doctors will call the girl into the office and chat with her about her upcoming marriage while he fills out the paperwork. Dawdle for a appropriate length of time and send her out with a certificate.
As others have noted, these women may not have any other good options here. [and I wouldn't assume such women, if no longer virgins, had much choice in that matter either. Given that one can be stoned for being a rape victim... well, again, it's a crap place to be a woman.]
ReplyDeleteLying to stay alive seems an acceptable tactic to me.
It may not even be deceit; many of these girls/women may in fact be virginal.
ReplyDeleteI realize these are mostly third world countries we are talking about here, but even so, I would think tampons (even via a black market) would be an extremely popular item for women, regardless of whether the Koran allows them or not.
Joe wrote: And somehow these Wahabbis have gotten it into their heads in Saudi, Pakistan and a few other places that this sort of behavior is acceptable. It's barbaric. It isn't even Islam, but some distorted form of Islam.
ReplyDeleteIt is, in fact, an inevitable outcome of the theosophy known as Islam. Islam is founded in war and depravity, has never reformed itself because its dogmas don't allow for reformation, and will always be popular amongst a certain type of man because it caters to the worst aspect of the male psyche.
When are we going to wake up and realize that Islam is a gutter religion and everything about it is anti-Western and, therefore, Anti-Life. There God is not the God of The Jewish and Christian Bibles. Those Muslims who have attacked us, and those who Muslims who have supported them are the true representatives of Islam. This is not merely a Clash Of Civilizations, it is a war to the death between the two. Islam has declared war on us; its about time we realized that fact.
Marriages are often arranged by families, and a woman has no choice in the matter.
ReplyDeleteEven Pakistanis in London will send their daughters to Pakistan to marry cousins. Sometimes these daughters escape before they can be shipped off, but police in the UK as a rule refuse to intervene.
Mark Steyn has writtern about this for years.
Even in the UK Muslim girls are forced into marriages, by their parents, with cousins in their home countries. Mark Steyn has written about it for years.
ReplyDeleteStacy,
ReplyDeleteWhy ignore the biological reality that virgins do not always bleed the first time? Sometimes, the intact hymen doesn't tear. Sometimes, it has already torn from tampon use, athletics, or the like. Sometimes, there isn't enough of a hymen to tear and bleed. (Sometimes, women bleed for days; that's the flip side.)
For virgins who don't quite feel like playing Russian Roulette with their private parts, these kits would be sensible. Not deceitful, but basic common sense. Find me a woman who is aware that about 40% of women don't bleed their first time but would not use this option in a Muslim country and I'll find a shrink for her.