Kuwait Times

Published Date: March 16, 2007
By Rania El Gamal

In traditional countries in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America a bride's intact hymen is still examined before marriage and is considered the only proof of the woman's honour and chastity.

'Touch Me Please' 'Like a Virgin' and the 'Strongest Virgin Drops' are some of the latest seductive advertising slogans for cosmetic products that guarantee a vaginal "tightening effect" for women. Such products promise the woman to discover her "deepest sexual pleasures once again - just like a virgin."
The products confirm they are "100 per cent natural... with secret natural ingredients" and they have been "used and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of women in the Middle East and Asia" to bring back "youthful passions, rekindled sensual yearnings, and completely intensified sexual experience."
The concept of being a virgin before marriage is very important in the Middle East. It is taken for granted that a woman is a virgin as long as she is single. Men can't easily accept marrying a non-virgin - even if she was a victim of rape. Women who lose their virginity before marriage risk losing the chance to marry. In some cases, women might be beaten or killed by their male relatives if its found out they are not longer virgins.

By selling 'virginity' in a bottle, or soap or operation, marketers are selling women the fantasy of becoming a virgin again. The fantasy could turn into a nightmare, however, since some of the 'virginity' products can cause be harmful to women's health or at least their pocketbook.

Strolling around the tiny shops of Salheyia Souq in Kuwait City, it was hard not to notice the packed cosmetic products inside one of the shops. On every single shelf, on small tables and on the floor there are creams promising whiter skin, shampoos offering silky hair and the latest soaps guaranteeing a 'virgin-like sensation'.

Different kinds of the so-called 'Virginity Soap' are sold with an offer to tighten and constrict the vaginal muscles, thus enhancing sexual pleasure. Trying to understand how the magical soap work, Kuwait Times asks one of the shopkeepers, a young Filipina. She giggled shyly and answered that "a lot of women buy this soap and they had no complaints."

The soaps - typically imported from East Asian countries - cost about KD2.5 for a bar. There were many kinds and brands of the virginity soap, from regular white soaps to ones made with rose water or even mint. The shop assistant explained the differences: "Many women buy the minty kind because it has a tingly feeling."

Usage instructions written on one of the mint soap read: "Feminine hygienic herbal keeps your private parts clean... Clinically proven to be safe... Free the skin from bacteria and other infections... It also tightens vaginal muscle... Lather and apply gently to clean intimate area. Rinse well. Use always during bath or wash."

Other products advertised on the Internet or in classified ads also advocate a second virginity. 'Virginity Herbal Drops' are marketed in the local advertisement papers labelled as "the strongest" drops. The company, which offers these drops, also sells other cosmetic products. Talking to the person responsible for selling those products over the phone, he presented himself as "Doctor X."

He said: "The drops are 100 per cent made of natural herbs and are used to tighten the muscles of the vaginal area." He went on to explain the prescription: "One bottle costs KD 15. You use the drops twice a week for a month." Doctor X also confirmed that "there are no side effects and the results are guaranteed." He added: "A lot of women are buying it. The drops are made in France."

But are these products safe?

Dr Samer Al-Rayyes, MD, FACOG, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, Royale Hayat Hospital, argues that the virginity products can do more harm than good.
"These products cause the vagina to swell, so the woman would feel it is tight because it is swollen, but it would cause inflammation and pain (during sexual intercourse)," he said.

Some prefer cosmetic surgery - vaginal rejuvenation - as a safer option for women who want to have their vagina tightened. The procedure is legal and popularly done in Kuwait. It involves tightening the vaginal and perineum area, which is often stretched during childbirth.

According to Al-Rayyes, it is usually a simple procedure that "can take about an hour" depending on the extent of the defect. Al-Rayyes explained that women who had multiple pregnancies might suffer from urinary incontinence or uterine prolapse, which can be repaired during the surgery.

With childbirth and aging, pelvic muscles relax and the diameters of the vagina increase. Doctors also claim that the vaginal rejuvenation surgery increases sexual pleasure for both partners.

"We have about 50 per cent of women patients come here for this procedure... In one day, I had four women who want to do it," said Siobian Clement, Manager, Cosmesurge-Kuwait. The fees of the surgery vary but start from KD 700.
Clement, an American in her fifties with five children, had the operation herself last week. She decided to do the operation for herself first as well as for her husband. Clement also said that she felt the change right after the surgery and had no complications.

"The women I have met here in Kuwait who all wanted (to do the operation) are doing it for themselves, not just for their husbands," she said. "I had phone calls from husbands who call us to make sure that the operation is safe," she added.

However, she also stressed that the surgery is not to be done at any general practitioner or gynaecologist. "It is safe and simple if it is done at the right hands," she said.

Is virginity restorable?

One of the common mistakes that can cause serious health hazards amounting to death is doing the vaginal tightening or tummy tuck operations in the same time as childbirth. These surgeries should be done three months after childbirth when the woman's body is back to normal, said Al-Rayyes. "There is so much blood in the (vaginal area) during childbirth. Infection and wound separation can happen," he said.

Clement added that such procedures are done in Kuwait during childbirth. "I hear that it is being done here in Kuwait. To me this is a criminal act... I would strongly discourage it," she said.

Cosmetic surgical operations are also another option some women opt for to restore their virginity, or the closest feel to it. In traditional countries in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America a bride's intact hymen is still examined before marriage and is considered the only proof of the woman's honour and chastity. Bed sheets with blood stains from a couple's wedding night are sometimes hanged in public to prove that the bride was a virgin before marriage.
Whether to please her male partner, avoid social disgrace of having pre-martial sex let alone being killed for "family honour," the reasons that drive a woman to restore her virginity are many. Opting for the surgical option known as "hymenoplasty" (restoring the hymen) is a popular and controversial medical procedure prevalent in the Middle East, though not always legalised.

However, Al-Rayyes disagrees that these surgeries actually work. "You can't restore virginity," he said. "Once you rupture the hymen, you can't fix it, the edges won't come together. Medically you can't restore the hymen," he added. As for the surgeries being done in other Arab countries, he noted that "it is a procedure where they retighten the opening of the vagina, but the hymen itself can't be fixed."