New Level of Sexism: Virginity Testing

Yes, virginity testing is an actual “thing” that is conducted by doctors in over 20 countries. This procedure is not only a violation of human rights but is also extremely sexist as mostly women—especially teenage girls—are forced into having this procedure done. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), virginity testing, also called the “two-finger test”, is “unscientific, harmful, and a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights.” In addition to being unnecessary, this medical procedure is sometimes “painful, humiliating, and traumatic.” These tests continue to be detrimental to girls and women in societies with “social norms that emphasize control over women’s and girls’ sexualities and bodies.”

An intact hymen used to be a sign of purity, and was a feature that allowed women to be eligible for marriage in the past. However, even now, this myth is common in several societies including Iraq, Indonesia, and South African countries. In Afghanistan, premarital sex is considered a criminal offense.

Today, even with the augmenting awareness regarding feminism and gender equality, women and young girls are forced into this ridiculous procedure by their own parents to assess their values and honors as preparation for marriage. You would think these procedures are carried on in cultures because of traditions and values—but this is not the only reason why parents force their daughters into this dehumanizing course of action.

In the United States, legal guardians can still force their children in going through virginity testing—where a doctor will penetrate two fingers into the patient’s vagina to see if her hymen is still intact or not. This disgusting and almost shameful act is still legal in this country. Rapper T.I. once “shared” his experience of bringing his own daughter to a gynecologist to see whether she was still a virgin soon after she turned 18. He was fully aware that a girl’s hymen can be broken by activities such as riding bikes, horses, and doing gymnastics. Yet, he still wanted his daughter to go through such a horrifying procedure even with knowing how unreliable and scientifically disproven virginity testings are.

If you thought this was the end of T.I.’s story, do not worry—it gets worse from here. When he was asked if his 15-year-old son was forced into virginity testing or not, he commented on how he knew that his son was sexually active—and was O.K. with it. Now, it went from violating a young girl’s privacy and rights to additionally being extremely sexist. Supporting his son to explore his own sexuality during adolescence but restricting his daughter—who is considered an adult in the United States—from having freedom over her own body is simply inhumane and violates human rights and feminism on so many different levels. Why can boys have sexual intercourse but girls having sexual intercourse is considered taboo?

In Afghanistan and many South African countries, girls and women who do not pass the virginity test may be incarcerated up to three months, and are abused—sometimes, even murdered—by their own family members for contaminating their family’s honors.

Even with organizations such as the WHO and UNWomen actively persuading and asking nations to ban such acts, virginity tests are still conducted by physicians in the U.S., and it is being carried on as a tradition in numerous African countries. It is time to put an end to this act of violation.