Muslim women in France regain virginity in clinics

[JODO 2]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070430/lf_nm/...wyQxsaBiwRg.3QA

Muslim women in France regain virginity in clinics

By Alexandra Steigrad Sun Apr 29, 9:49 PM ET

PARIS (Reuters) -- Sitting in a cafe near the Champs Elysees, the 26-year-old French-born woman of Algerian descent looks like any other Parisian. But two months ago, she did something none of her friends have done.

She had her hymen re-sewn, technically making her a virgin again.

"I'm glad I had it done," said the woman, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. "I wanted to reconstruct part of my life, to reconstruct myself so that I could feel better about myself."

This 30-minute outpatient procedure, called "hymenoplasty" and costing between 1,500 and 3,000 euros ($2,000-$4,000), is increasingly popular among young women of North African descent in France.

No exact figures exist to say how many such operations are done, but the woman's surgeon says he gets three to five queries and performs one to three hymenoplasties each week. Demand has been rising for the past three or four years.

Doctor Marc Abecassis, whose office is near the chic Champs Elysees, sees the rise in religion among France's five million Muslims fuelling this trend. His patients are between 18 and 45 years old, Muslim, born both in France and in North Africa.

"Many of my patients are caught between two worlds," said Abecassis. They have had sex already but are expected to be virgins at marriage according to a custom that he called "cultural and traditional, with enormous family pressure."

[doodlebug 3]

Well now I've seen it all!! lol.

I guess if it were a matter of life or death I'd have it done but really, just to "feel better about yourself"???? Losing your virginity isn't just the act of ripping the hymen. It's very much a spiritual and mental act as well........and that you cannot have sewed back up.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Seems to me a person would have to be very insecure to have that done. At least going by the woman quoted in that article.

Well now I've seen it all!! lol.

I guess if it were a matter of life or death I'd have it done but really, just to "feel better about yourself"???? Losing your virginity isn't just the act of ripping the hymen. It's very much a spiritual and mental act as well........and that you cannot have sewed back up.

Indeed. Seems kind of pointless unless you can get some sort of memory erasing done to go with it. But even so... its clearly self deception.

[Niels Bohr 72]

More money for the surgeons and doctors! Hehehe.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I hear the Kevlar hymens last forever.

[MissStacey 1]

That's just silly.

What is she breaks it again riding a horse?

[JODO 2]

I hear the Kevlar hymens last forever.

[homesick_american 1]

This is oooooooooooold news; they've been doing this in Europe, Canada, and the United States for years now.

[Lizzy 0]

I don't see the use in it LOL.. what a waste of the doctors and their time.

Edited May 1, 2007 by Lizzy

[Donna A 4]

they do it in the middle east too. ur right...this is old news.

[seldi 1]

so...according to these women, my friend lost her virginity at age 8, when she fell off her bike and broke her hymen.

[Sinergy 3]

omg im gonna go try it if it can make me a 31 yr old with 2 kids a virgin again, IM ALL FOR IT

[Aymerlu 3]

they do it in the middle east too. ur right...this is old news.

Very true. My sister in law is an OB/GYN in Egypt and she told me they do a lot of these before the women are married since they already had sex and told their future husband they are a virgin.

[Ban Hammer 14,307]

everyone sing along now......

like a virgin, oooo touched for the very first time

[Ladylethal 12]

omg im gonna go try it if it can make me a 31 yr old with 2 kids a virgin again, IM ALL FOR IT

That is the ther surgery where you can be 30 with tons of kids and have a 15 year old #######. I knew a person (friend of my brother's girlfriend) who had it done after 3 kids and she said she and her husband had a hard time getting it going again, 'cus the doctor made it too tight.