♀️ How much does it cost to 'become a virgin' in Egypt?
🇪🇬 For some women, surgery to repair torn hymens can cost thousands.
⭕️ That's why more brides are turning to cheaper ways to 'prove' virginity and avoid being shamed - or even killed.
But this can also lead to tragedy.🧵
♀️ Hymens can be damaged through sports or car accidents.
🇪🇬 But in some conservative societies, an 'intact' hymen is still seen as confirming virginity.
♀️ For women getting married in rural Egypt, 'proving’ they haven't had sex can be the difference between life and death.
🇪🇬A torn hymen can lead to shaming by relatives or future in-laws.
♀️ In worst cases, it can motivate so-called ‘honour killings’.
⭕️ A hymenoplasty is often seen as the best procedure - but access is difficult and healthcare services are limited.
news.trust.org/item/202112052…
💰 Surgery to reconstruct hymens can cost up to $1270 - twice the average monthly wage in Egypt.
🚞 Some doctors travel to rural areas to operate for lower prices.
♀️ One gynaecologist says a third of some 1,500 operations she has performed over the last 9 years were for free.
♀️ But some women are vulnerable to exploitation.
🇪🇬 Gynaecologist Amira Ibrahim Abou Shady said people selling herbs and "magic recipes" online are trying to take advantage.
🗣 “[They're] cashing in on desperate girls who are trying to recover what they have lost," she said.
🇪🇬 Hymenoplasties are legal and relatively safe if conducted by a certified gynaecologist in Egypt.
⭕️ But it remains controversial.
♀️ Many view the surgery as a pragmatic way to help protect women from social stigma or violence.
news.trust.org/item/202112052…
⭕️ The religious stance on hymenoplasties in Muslim-majority Egypt is unclear.
♀️ Some clerics insist it should only be allowed in cases of rape.
🇪🇬 But a scholar at Islamic institute @DarAlIftaEng recently said women seeking to "change course" in their lives could get one.
🇪🇬 Campaigners say it could take decades to change deep-rooted beliefs about virginity in Egypt.
♀️ But some think a nationwide campaign to tackle misconceptions could help.
🗣 "We are talking about lives here, and they do matter," said one NGO head Randa Fakhr El-Deen.
🌏 Human rights groups say thousands of women and girls are killed across the Middle East and South Asia each year by family members angered at perceived damage to their "honour".
⭕️ Read more about the women seeking to 'prove' their virginity in Egypt 👇 news.trust.org/item/202112052…
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