The issue of getting virginity test and repair has started gaining momentum once again. This time the British doctors have protested against it. Actually, the doctors here said that till the fake operations in the name of 'virginity repair' are not stopped, then there is no use of making a law on virginity test. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has warned the government and demanded a strict ban on virginity repair surgery. It is worth noting that last month, a committee of parliamentarians had moved a resolution demanding to criminalize the virginity test conducted by some private clinics.
Doctors say that on the one hand the government is claiming to make a law on the virginity test, while on the other hand there is no restriction on the process of 'restore virginity'. In virginity repair surgery, a layer of the skin of the vagina is repaired so that the hymen does not look broken. This surgery is called hymenoplasty. In the UK, most girls and women have hymenoplasty by their parents or relatives to make them appear completely virgin. In 2020, the Sunday Times, after investigation, had revealed 22 such private clinics that charge hefty fees in the name of virginity repair surgery. Within a year, about 9,000 people here searched for information related to hymenoplasty on Google.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says that efforts to ban virginity testing will go in vain if the process of virginity repair is not stopped. RCOG President Dr Edward Morris told The Guardian: 'We believe both procedures should be banned in the UK. Hymenoplasty and virginity testing are both harmful practices that work to tarnish social, cultural and political values. They give false information about the prior sexual relations of women. A ban on virginity testing without a ban on hymenoplasty is of no use as the two practices are inextricably linked.
RCOG explained that the hymen is like a membrane of blood cells. Bleeding usually occurs after having sex for the first time and after it breaks there is no bleeding again. At the same time, the WHO clearly says that the hymen cannot always be linked to sex and virginity testing is a violation of human rights. Diana Nammi, executive director of the IKWRO women's rights organization, said that hymenoplasty is a form of violence against women and girls. This is a harmful practice that encourages forced marriages.