Calls grow in Morocco for end to virginity test before marriage

Dubai: Wedding day turned into a tragedy for a Moroccan family after the groom questioned the “virginity” of his bride.

According to Sky News Arabia, the 33-year-old bride, identified as Samia, planned to commit suicide on her wedding night after being beaten by her husband and berated by her family. “All I could think of that night was to put an end to my life,” she said.

“My wedding day was like a nightmare. It will never be forgotten. I always wonder how the joy of a lifetime has turned into a nightmare,” Samia added.

She went on to say: “I underwent a traditional virginity test before marriage by one of the birth attendants, who said I’m still a virgin. However, the absence of ‘blood’ after my wedding night was, for my husband and family, a definite proof of impurity, something which throws questions to my chastity and honour.”

Soon after that incident took place, the “Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles” (Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms) launched a digital campaign in Morocco aimed at putting an end to virginity tests and refute the “myth of virginity” .

M.A.L.I. campaign denounced the continued handover of “virginity certificates” in a number of countries, including Morocco, pointing out that this practice is an affront to women, and feeds on hymen reconstruction practices.

The digital campaign highlights that 50 per cent of women do not bleed during their first intercourse, and that some are born without a hymen, while others have flexible ones, which makes doctors find pregnant women with intact hymen.

Ibtissame Lachgar, the official spokeswoman for the movement said, “Virginity is a male myth, as it does not exist and has no scientific or medical meaning. In addition, the discussion is always about the virginity of women, while there is no discussion of the virginity of men.”

She stressed that the goal of this campaign is "to curb this reactionary practice".