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Virginity testing is the practice of examining a female’s external and internal genitalia to decide if they are sexually chaste. It is based on the belief that a female’s hymen would only be torn as a result of sexual intercourse. Some testers believe that a female’s sexual experience can be judged by her external genitalia.

While this definition is technically correct, it does not even begin to describe the cultural beliefs, tactics of oppression, or gendering of diseases that are all involved in this controversial practice.

First of all, virginity testing is the result of a struggle between biology and ideology. It occurs in countries that have patriarchal values and already use traditional cultural and religious beliefs to subject women to specific gender roles. Many of these countries are developing nations that face severe economic and political instabilities. A major factor is the presence of widespread epidemics, namely HIV/AIDS. It is those of the lowest socioeconomic levels, especially those living in rural areas, that have been hit the hardest and suffer the most from this disease. It is a plague that they do not understand how to combat. In South Africa, there has been a push that included government funding to revitalize ‘indigenous knowledge systems’ (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). The people see this as encouragement to reinstate traditional practices such as virginity testing. There are agencies and nongovernmental organizations that are trying to provide educational and medicinal resources, but they cannot reach everyone affected, nor can they always explain the causes and transmission of HIV/AIDS in ways everyone can understand. Some of these peoples live in communities that have held the same values for generations. When they face this strange new disease that kills so many, it is not surprising that they revert to traditional cultural beliefs and long-held wisdom of past generations. This could be a reason that many of the strongest proponents for virginity testing are the older women in the communities. They have the chance to be heard and respected for their wisdom, and can provide instruction on how to return to the value of guarding virginity. Unfortunately in the case of virginity testing, their knowledge does more harm then good. There are many groups that support these ‘African solutions’ to African problems (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001).

The detractors of the practice of virginity testing, predominantly women, call it a violation of human rights. Some communities hold annual public virginity testing events, while others are forced to endure these tests monthly. One piece of advice given to mothers is to start checking their daughters early. “[around the age of two or three]..Just as you wash her body and comb her hair, you can check if she’s still ‘clean’ down there” (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). Public testing begins about age five and continues until marriage. It is an absolute tragedy that some girls will grow up thinking that this is completely normal and acceptable, since they will never know a life without it.

In performing a virginity test, not all ‘testers’ feel the truth lies in hymen. They will judge a girl’s external genitalia, the flatness of her stomach, and the tautness of the muscles in her thighs (LeClerc-Madlala). Others will look for a white dot somewhere inside the vagina or a white lacy veil (the hymen). These methods may sound absurd to a society that has been educated differently in biology, but they are held as the determining factors for these girls. If a girl is found not to be a virgin, her father may have to pay a fine for ‘tainting’ the community and the girl is shunned from the ‘certified’ virgins (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). The spread of AIDS and subsequent call to return to traditional practices have been used as a way to oppress the girls and women of these societies even more. As the younger generation of women adopt the traditional male activities of sexual behavior, multiple partners, and an outgoing role in society, the males and older generation of women are citing these as reasons that women need to be controlled, especially their sexuality (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). Besides the fact that virginity testing is a complete violation of rights to privacy and bodily integrity and freedom from gender discrimination, in many cases this is a major health violation. As one anthropologist witnessed in a weekend jamboree in Durban, South Africa, one of the testers checked the girls’ external genitalia while wearing rubber gloves, the same pair of gloves was used for all 85 girls (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001).

In South Africa, the death rates of people between the ages of 18 and 40 have increased by an estimated 240 percent in the past five years (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). This statistic alone can provide the imagination with the fear that this population must feel and the hopelessness that may accompany it. In the countries that perform virginity tests, HIV/AIDS is seen as a heterosexual disease. Along with other diseases, it is seen as a disease that is passed on by women. They pass it on to their unsuspecting lovers, they pass it on to their children. In trying to understand this mysterious disease, many people turn to a place that is just as mysterious, the female body. Since women’s menstruation is already seen as ‘dirty’ and potentially dangerous and AIDS awareness campaigns warning against ‘bodily secretions’, it was no big leap to transfer blame to women and their dark orifices that hide germs waiting to infect their male partner (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). Since women have become more sexually active in these societies, advocaters of virginity testing can propagate the idea that women’s sexuality is dangerous and must be controlled for the public good. The concept that HIV/AIDS can only be spread through sexual intercourse is the premise for virginity testing. Many types of contact with bodily secretions, including oral and anal sex, can transmit infection. Embedded in the practice of virginity testing is the distrust of women, even among themselves. Men are able to get a certificate that says they have been tested and are free of infection, but these can be falsified (LeClerc-Madlala, 2001). Even so, their word is trusted.

The practice of virginity testing is a cultural response with patriarchal values to new challenges in society. The following posted article does touch on topics important for an understanding of virginity tests, but it does not demonstrate their impact on women. In the article, there is one quote that could eradicate this practice if people would believe it “Its only a girl who can tell whether she is a virgin or not” (Mukumbira, 2004).

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_3746.html

LeClerc-Madlala, Suzanne (2001). "Virginity Testing: Managing Sexuality in a Maturing HIV/AIDS Epidemic". Medical Anthropology Quarterly. 15 (4): 533–552.

Mukumbira, Rodrick (March 2004), "Virginity Testing and HIV Tests Before Marriage", News from Africa, retrieved October 4, 2008