The Sunday Mail
Stranger than Fiction
Tendai Chara
THE difference between men and animals is that humans have the capacity to reason.
Humans think, work and are capable of solving complex problems — attributes that animals are not blessed with.
Men’s mental capabilities have, however, often been used to achieve not only selfish but also very dangerous and deceitful plans.
Throughout human history, humans have been known for being aggressive, cunning and deceitful.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend in which women and girls are resorting to bizarre and deceitful means to achieve certain goals.
One such deceiving act is virginity repair surgery. Also known as hymen reconstruction surgery, this medical procedure is intended to recreate the hymen, albeit for purposes of deceit.
During the surgery, the broken hymen is surgically restored. Reports say it is a painstaking exercise and it can take six or more weeks for the patient to heal.
Most women opting for this procedure are reportedly doing it in an attempt to disguise their sexual past from their future husbands.
Virginity restoration is reportedly popular in the developed world, most notably in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.
Online sources indicate that in some cultures, a broken hymen can prevent a woman from finding a marriage partner, and ruin her reputation including even put her life at risk.
In many parts of the world, especially in conservative societies such as the Middle East, Asia and North Africa, there are strict cultural rules around virginity, where most men will not accept a woman who is not a virgin. In these cultures, being a virgin is of outmost importance and most families will consider a woman’s inability to get married, due to being a non-virgin, as disastrous. As a result, virginity restoration is reportedly popular among Muslim women in the United Kingdom, where young Muslim women who would have lost their virginity end up resorting to hymen restoration.
Reports say there is great demand for hymen restoration with more than 22 known private clinics across the UK offering the service.
Virginity restoration, however, is costly. The procedure, which can take more than an hour, is pegged at a minimum of £3 000 in the UK.
In the United States, reports indicate that the surgery costs between US$2 500 and US$10 000, depending on a number of factors, chief among them the geographic location and the reconstruction work required.
Virginity restoration is, however, not only practised in Asia and Europe — the developing world is fast catching up with this fraudulent activity.
In Zimbabwe and other African countries, “tightening” creams that are allegedly capable of restoring virginity are readily available both in pharmacies and at herbal market stalls.
In Harare, herbs that are said to restore virginity are easily accessible and can be bought at Mbare Musika and at Mupedzanhamo or over the counter in some pharmacies.
The Sunday Mail Society recently visited the Mupedzanhamo market, where such herbs are being sold openly.
Gogo Moyana, one of the vendors selling the herbs at the market, said those wishing to restore their virginity can easily do so.
“I have a variety of traditional herbs that can work wonders. I once gave a prostitute who was intending to settle down with a man and as I speak, she is now happily married with her husband thinking that he married a virgin,” Gogo Moyana said.
The herbs are being sold for as much as US$20. Gogo Moyana said the herbs are inserted into a woman’s private parts. After two weeks, her virginity is supposedly restored.
But why would one risk life and limb by allowing such a procedure to be performed just to be “pure” on the wedding night?
“Most men prefer to marry virgins and, as such, there has been demand for the restoration of virginity. In my view, this is a necessary exercise which has helped build happy families,” added Gogo Moyana.
Asked about the action she will take if she discovers that her son or close relative has married a woman who restored her virginity, Gogo Moyana said she would just keep her mouth shut.
“As long as that person is happy in their marriage, there is no problem. Like I said earlier, this procedure has more positives than negatives,” she said.
Is it fair for society to insist on women getting married when they are still virgins?
Why is it not so important for men to also keep their virginity until marriage?
How would you feel if you discovered that the woman you married restored her virginity?
Women, if you restored your virginity and then your partner discovers it, what would you do?
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