| Zeham lost her virginity when she was raped by a close friend of the family: "I've been dreading my wedding day, the moment of truth where it will become clear that I no longer have a hymen. I soon discovered that these things can be fixed, but it's not cheap, and surgical procedures like that entail a risk of infection. My biggest difficulty has been raising the money. However, once I finally got the 8.500 DKK together, I just couldn't do it. I am the one who has been assaulted, who has been the victim of a crime. Why am I also the one who has to use all my savings, exposing myself to pain and humiliation, lying with my legs wide open in a clinically lit room, perhaps even suffering infections, while Brahim (the perpetrator -ed.) stuffs his face with my mother's falafel and impregnates his wife. I just can't live with that, I'd rather live without my hymen." Mødom på mode, Gyldendal, Copenhagen 2007 |
The Hymen Industry
Some surgeons - particularly in private practice- and agents in the public debate denote these operations as a form of life-saving surgery. These are surgeons who make easy money on these women and waste none of their precious time on counselling and support. This means that they cannot be considered reliable when judging the situations of individual women and the long-term effects of their operations. If these operations were truly life-saving, it would be natural to offer them in the public health-care system, along the lines of treatments offered for other life-threatening conditions. This is not the case!Providing women with a new hymen is the equivalent of providing victims of domestic violence with a manual entitled "How to Keep Your Partner Happy so he Cannot Find a Reason for Beating You". Fortunately it would be unthinkable to offer such a manual. For some reason it is perfectly legitimate to fix immigrant women "To Prevent Your Parents from Killing You"
