The pressure to prove purity
Gynaecologists in America are reporting an increase in the number of women asking for operations to restore their virginity. Sexual purity is highly prized in many communities, particularly in the Middle East, and virginity testing is common practice within traditional families who regard the presence of an intact hymen as evidence that the woman is a virgin.
Those women who are suspected of not being virgins can suffer harassment or even violence. Under these circumstances, are virginity restoration operations a practical solution to an ingrained social inequality?
Jenni talks to Haleh Afshar, Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and Women's Studies at the University of York, and Pinar Ilkkaracan, the founder and coordinator of Women for Women's Human Rights, based in Istanbul.
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