There is no way of knowing how many hymen-repair surgeries are happening in Canada, but at least four plastic surgery clinics specialize in them.

“It will allow for women to tear and bleed like they did when they first lost their virginity,” reads the website offering the reconstructive surgery at a Toronto clinic. “The clinic now performs this surgery to assist women who need to ensure the illusion of virginity.”

In Canada, some young women from Muslim communities are getting their hymens repaired, in preparation for arranged marriages back in theirs or their parents’ countries of origins: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan. and parts of Northern Africa.

In those countries, men and women must be pure until marriage, and the woman is often expected to bleed from her torn hymen on the marriage bed.

The young women seeking the surgery may have had secret boyfriends in Canada, torn their hymens during sports or even been raped or molested as children. They fear that without an intact hymen, they could be killed and their families could be dishonoured.

The demand for the procedure concerns some women’s groups.

“This is a life-or-death matter,” says Farzana Hassan, former president of the Muslim Canadian Congress. “I am dismayed that this sort of thing has to happen. It is surprising that these at attitudes still exist among Muslims who have immigrated to Canada.”

More.

[Source: Toronto Sun]