♀️ 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".
🇺🇸 In the U.S., a new war is emerging in classrooms.
🚫 Texas recently banned teaching critical race theory, an academic concept examining how race and racism has shaped society in America.
But it’s not the only state outlawing CRT. Here's what's happening across the nation. 🧵
🔴 Texas
💬 @GovAbbott's Senate Bill 3 came into effect last week. The measure says teachers can't discuss how one race is "inherently superior" or that someone is responsible for past actions of their race.
Students should also not feel "distress on account of... race or sex.”
🔴 Arizona
🚫 In June, a similar law was signed by governor @dougducey banning teachers from “instruction that presents any form of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex.”