If there is one thing that staff in Sister
Namibia has to be credited for, then it is for our constant efforts to look at
issues and topics that affect women not only in Namibia, but also in the
region.
Today, we started reflecting on issues of
virginity and what being a virgin might mean. In a culture where a girl or a
woman’s “virginity” is a mark of honour for the family this potentially has far
reaching consequences for women. We already raised issue with concepts of
virginity during the hype around Olufuko (female initiation schools) revival
attempts in some northern regions last year.
So our questions: What does “being a
virgin” mean at all? Who is a virgin? Can “virginity” be restored?
It would seem that “being a virgin” might
have something to do with the particular disposition of a young girl or woman.
In other words, a “virgin” is someone who is “pure and untouched” in some ways
angelic. This person lacks in life
experience, therefore has a naive innocence that is unblemished by life
experience, definitely by sexual experiences!
Or does being a virgin have to do with the
integrity of the hymen, that most flimsy of tissue on which the whole moral
integrity of a girl or a woman depends? Possibly not a common phenomenon, there
are girls born without a hymen. What does it say about the morality of these
girls? I recently heard that plastic surgeons increasingly are engaged in
“restoring” women’s virginity – ie. tightening (I suppose) of the hymen. I also
had to laugh when I saw a soap making claims to a similar effect. How would a
woman whose virginity was restored (whether surgically or by using that special
soap) be valued in a society where women are subjected to “virginity” tests?
What about women whose hymen(s?) remained
intact in spite of sexual activity – for surely, this is also possible? Would
they be allowed to bask in the glory bestowed to an intact hymen?
There are many questions to consider when
thinking about virginity. What disturbed me was the statement by a young woman
to the effect that girls who voluntarily submit to the embarrassment of
virginity tests should be amended for being examples to other girls. I could
not contain my outrage at this statement, since I could not stop thinking about
all the girls in Namibia who are raped and for whom a moral judgement will be
made, should they agree to such an indignity!
I cannot believe I am reading this about this in about what is considered a forward-thinking and foward-looking country. To subjugate women through their hymen throws women into what was considered backward a century ago. Why don't we get all the boys to take up the practice of virginity and give the girls a century off?
ReplyDeleteYes, it is terrible indeed. While virginity testing is probably most prevalent in African countries and communities, it remains a "standard" against which women's "morality" is judged world wide. Perhaps one should conjure a "virginity testing for boys and men and see whether it is accepted as readily as it for girls and women. Any bright ideas? A luta continua!
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