Artificial hymens invade Egypt

Studens praying at al-Azhar University. Presumably not for artificial hymens. Image by Getty Images via Daylife

A Chinese company has begun marketing artificial hymens to virginity-obsessed Egyptians… and it has spurred the greatest headline in The Guardian’s history. Enter Egyptian journo Mohamed Al Rahhal’s new piece, “Male Orders Hymen”:

Recently, news of a $15 Chinese-made artificial hymen sent ripples across the Egyptian media and blogosphere. China has been manufacturing this very same product for years, but it was an advertisement for a Chinese company offering shipping into the Middle East that started the discussion here in Cairo.

Conservative MPs took the debate into parliament, requesting a ban on imports of the product – and incidentally meteorically boosted its public exposure. There was, however, no information available whether the product was already available in Egypt, or whether there were individual orders coming locally. Of course, I had to provide an answer. I just had to order one.

Gigimo (NSFW) mainly sells sex-toys, and offers a “discreet packaging” option – removing the original packaging and any user manuals. I made sure to select that. One secured online payment and two weeks later – instead of the “three to four” suggested on the website – the product had arrived in Cairo.

As I went to retrieve my package at the post office, it had been opened by various puzzled customs and postal employees who, at a loss, defined the product in writing as “containing an unknown red liquid” – and awaited my description.

The article only gets better from there.

But alas, some politicians and clerics don’t like the faux-hymen. They feel it will lead to a wave of free sex and decadence among women unafraid of preserving their intact hymen for marriage. Muslim Brotherhood MPs are livid.

Abdel Moati Bayoumi, one of the best known clerics at Cairo’s legendary al-Azhar University, put it this way. “This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage [...] I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever does it (imports it) should be punished.”

It remains to see how many artificial hymens will be sold in Egypt. The product, officially called The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit, can be found here (NSFW).