egypt wants to ban kit used to "fake virginity"

[Amby 490]

CAIRO — Conservative Egyptian lawmakers have called for a ban on imports of a Chinese-made kit meant to help women fake their virginity and one scholar has even called for the "exile" of anyone who imports or uses it.

The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit, distributed by the Chinese company Gigimo, costs about $30. It is intended to help newly married women fool their husbands into believing they are virgins — culturally important in a conservative Middle East where sex before marriage is considered by many to be illicit. The product leaks a blood-like substance when inserted and broken.

Gigimo advertises shipping to every Arab country. But the company did not answer e-mails and phone calls seeking comment on whether it had orders from Egypt or other parts of the Middle East.

The fracas started when a reporter from Radio Netherlands broadcast an Arabic translation of the Chinese advertisement of the product. That set off fears of conservative parliament members that Egyptian women might start ordering the kits.

Sheik Sayed Askar, a member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood who is on the parliamentary committee on religious affairs, said the kit will make it easier for Egyptian women to give in to temptation. He demanded the government take responsibility for fighting the product to uphold Egyptian and Arab values.

"It will be a mark of shame on the ruling party if it allowed this product to enter the market," he said in a notice posted on the Brotherhood's parliament Web site on Sept. 15.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political opposition group, holds 88 of Egypt's 454 parliament seats.

Prominent Egyptian religious scholar Abdel Moati Bayoumi said anyone who imports the artificial hymen should be punished.

"This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage," Bayoumi said. "I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever does it (imports it) should be punished."

In a country and a region where pre-marital sex is so taboo it can even lead to a woman's murder, the debate over the virginity-faking kit has revived Egypt's constant struggle to reconcile modern mores with more traditional beliefs — namely, that a woman is not a virgin unless she bleeds after the first time.

"Bleeding is not the only signal that yes, she's a virgin," said Heba Kotb, an observant Muslim woman who hosts a sex talk show on TV in which she fields calls from all over the Middle East.

Kotb noted that a medical procedure that reattaches a broken hymen by stitching is illegal in Egypt and can cost hundreds of dollars — prohibitively expensive for the poor. But many women still secretly seek it out in fear of punishment for pre-marital sex. Such punishment could include death by stoning or slayings at the hands of relatives, a practice more commonly referred to as honor killings.

The product is also causing a buzz on Egyptian blogs and news sites.

"If this thing enters Egypt, the country is going to go to waste. God protect us," commented a reader on the Web site of Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabie.

Marwa Rakha, an author and blogger who writes about dating issues, sees the product as a tool of empowerment for women in a macho Arab culture that restricts women's sexual urges but turns a blind eye to men galavanting.

"It sticks it in the face of every male hypocrite," she said.

Gigimo's Web site provides stilted instructions in English for the first-time user of the fake hymen.

"Insert this artificial hymen into your ####### carefully. When your lover penetrate, it will ooze out a liquid that look like blood not too much but just the right amount. Add in a few moans and groans, you will pass through undetectable."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,560241,00.html

[Jenn! 918]

[zqt3344 21]

What a whacked out religion islam is, muslims and their quest for virginity, truly demeaning and degrading of women once again. Islam is an affront for mind control over the masses of poor in the middle east. Truly sad.

CAIRO — Conservative Egyptian lawmakers have called for a ban on imports of a Chinese-made kit meant to help women fake their virginity and one scholar has even called for the "exile" of anyone who imports or uses it.

The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit, distributed by the Chinese company Gigimo, costs about $30. It is intended to help newly married women fool their husbands into believing they are virgins — culturally important in a conservative Middle East where sex before marriage is considered by many to be illicit. The product leaks a blood-like substance when inserted and broken.

Gigimo advertises shipping to every Arab country. But the company did not answer e-mails and phone calls seeking comment on whether it had orders from Egypt or other parts of the Middle East.

The fracas started when a reporter from Radio Netherlands broadcast an Arabic translation of the Chinese advertisement of the product. That set off fears of conservative parliament members that Egyptian women might start ordering the kits.

Sheik Sayed Askar, a member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood who is on the parliamentary committee on religious affairs, said the kit will make it easier for Egyptian women to give in to temptation. He demanded the government take responsibility for fighting the product to uphold Egyptian and Arab values.

"It will be a mark of shame on the ruling party if it allowed this product to enter the market," he said in a notice posted on the Brotherhood's parliament Web site on Sept. 15.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political opposition group, holds 88 of Egypt's 454 parliament seats.

Prominent Egyptian religious scholar Abdel Moati Bayoumi said anyone who imports the artificial hymen should be punished.

"This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage," Bayoumi said. "I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever does it (imports it) should be punished."

In a country and a region where pre-marital sex is so taboo it can even lead to a woman's murder, the debate over the virginity-faking kit has revived Egypt's constant struggle to reconcile modern mores with more traditional beliefs — namely, that a woman is not a virgin unless she bleeds after the first time.

"Bleeding is not the only signal that yes, she's a virgin," said Heba Kotb, an observant Muslim woman who hosts a sex talk show on TV in which she fields calls from all over the Middle East.

Kotb noted that a medical procedure that reattaches a broken hymen by stitching is illegal in Egypt and can cost hundreds of dollars — prohibitively expensive for the poor. But many women still secretly seek it out in fear of punishment for pre-marital sex. Such punishment could include death by stoning or slayings at the hands of relatives, a practice more commonly referred to as honor killings.

The product is also causing a buzz on Egyptian blogs and news sites.

"If this thing enters Egypt, the country is going to go to waste. God protect us," commented a reader on the Web site of Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabie.

Marwa Rakha, an author and blogger who writes about dating issues, sees the product as a tool of empowerment for women in a macho Arab culture that restricts women's sexual urges but turns a blind eye to men galavanting.

"It sticks it in the face of every male hypocrite," she said.

Gigimo's Web site provides stilted instructions in English for the first-time user of the fake hymen.

"Insert this artificial hymen into your ####### carefully. When your lover penetrate, it will ooze out a liquid that look like blood not too much but just the right amount. Add in a few moans and groans, you will pass through undetectable."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,560241,00.html

[mawilson 2,133]

Great business idea, I'll give them that

[zqt3344 21]

Bet they sell a ton of these!

Great business idea, I'll give them that

[HYENA 4]

everyone likes to get laid.

Hats off to China...smartypants! LOL!

[Amby 490]

I really enjoy the instructions at the end

[mawilson 2,133]

I really enjoy the instructions at the end

[Chica Yeyé 41]

What a whacked out religion islam is, muslims and their quest for virginity, truly demeaning and degrading of women once again. Islam is an affront for mind control over the masses of poor in the middle east. Truly sad.

In case you haven't noticed, pretty much all organized religions are obsessed with virginity. You might want to be more careful with what you post. #######.

[Peikko 1,575]

The problem I have with it is this idea that one should be required to lie about such things even if the lie is born about because the culture places an undue emphasis on female virginity.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

The problem I have with it is this idea that one should be required to lie about such things even if the lie is born about because the culture places an undue emphasis on female virginity.

I hear you. But confining this idea to the Muslim world is being either blind, or stupid. Catholics (with all the derivative sects and whatnot) also place idiotic emphasis on this #######.

[Jenn! 918]

The problem I have with it is this idea that one should be required to lie about such things even if the lie is born about because the culture places an undue emphasis on female virginity.

Yes, I wonder if there would be such an emphasis on virginity if there were some way to physically tell if a man was a virgin (not that the bleeding thing is an accurate test for women).

[luckytxn 2,265]

Get out of stoning card. Great idea.

[Peikko 1,575]

The problem I have with it is this idea that one should be required to lie about such things even if the lie is born about because the culture places an undue emphasis on female virginity.

I hear you. But confining this idea to the Muslim world is being either blind, or stupid. Catholics (with all the derivative sects and whatnot) also place idiotic emphasis on this #######.

It's not the religion itself but the culture that embraces the religion that can be the problem, as it is in some cultures where the muslim religion is prevalent. While I agree there are Catholics who do place undue emphasis on this idea, there isn't any suggestion that non virgin catholic women are treated with the same disdain that reduces a women to lying to her partner about her virginity and seeking to 'restore' herself with a fake virginity kit even in countries where catholisism is the predominant religion.

The problem I have with it is this idea that one should be required to lie about such things even if the lie is born about because the culture places an undue emphasis on female virginity.

Yes, I wonder if there would be such an emphasis on virginity if there were some way to physically tell if a man was a virgin (not that the bleeding thing is an accurate test for women).

It would make it a lot more problematic - and I agree with the bleeding is not an accurate test. I am sure many the woman has been cast out because she failed to bleed regardless of whether she was in fact violated or not. Terribly sad to make such a ritual so large a part in the life of women, terribly sad and very wrong in all kinds of ways.

Edited October 5, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[Peikko 1,575]

ZQT trying to get a rise out of the normal people again? Too bad the ZQT bold is becoming invisible to most