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Summary
Virginity testing is a harmful, unscientific practice rooted in patriarchal norms that violates women’s rights, dignity, and bodily autonomy. It must be abolished to protect women’s physical and emotional well-being.
In traditional times, virginity testing was in existence. However, over time, it has been identified as a harm to women and girls, a medically unsubstantiated practice that aims to determine whether a woman or girl has had sexual intercourse. The World Health Organisation states that “Virginity testing is a violation of human rights and has no scientific or medical value.”
The practice of virginity testing has ancient roots and stems from patriarchal cultural norms that link a woman’s worth, morality, and marriageability to her sexual purity. Nigeria, including regions such as the South-Eastern part (Imo, Anambra, Abia) and the Northern part (Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara), and the Yoruba communities (Ekiti, Osun, Oyo), still witness virginity testing. These communities are rooted in patriarchal cultural norms, religious beliefs, and the obsession with female chastity. Though not widespread nationwide, virginity testing remains a silent tradition in certain ethnic groups and rural areas.
Virginity testing is often carried out by older women, nurses, traditional birth attendants, or religious leaders using unscientific and invasive methods like hymen inspection or the two-finger test. In some cultures, a blood-stained cloth is expected after marriage to prove virginity. These methods are based on the false belief that a broken hymen or lack of bleeding indicates prior sexual activity, ignoring the fact that the hymen can stretch or tear due to non-sexual activities or may not bleed during sex at all.
According to the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology, only about half of women bleed the first time. The procedure lacks medical hygiene, risks infection and long-term harm, and reflects a harmful double standard targeting only women while excusing male sexual freedom.
This harms women physically, including pain and discomfort, as well as emotional harm, such as anxiety, trauma, shame, fear, and stress. This practice can also lead to long-term psychological damage, particularly for women and girls who are subjected to it. It often leaves a lasting scar on a girl’s self-worth and mental health. It also reinforces harmful gender norms, justifies control over female sexuality, and subjects girls to stigma, discrimination, or even violence. The practice violates their rights, dignity, and bodily autonomy, with no equivalent burden placed on men.
Furthermore, an anonymous survivor of virginity testing testifies to NFM, saying she was tested by her mother to prove she was still a virgin. She mentions how it traumatised her emotionally, as she believes she has no right over her body anymore.
“My mother threatens me that if I break my virginity, I won’t get married, she takes me for virginity testing after every 6 months, which is quite painful, embarrassing and uncomfortable.”
Reacting to the issue, feminist and psychologist, Oluwafunmbi Elizabeth, acknowledged that virginity testing does more harm to women as a class and should be scrapped wholly, because it places their value on whether or not the penetration of a man has devalued them.
Similarly, gender advocate Uche Okechukwu identified that women and girls have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and sexual health without external interference or coercion. Virginity testing undermines this autonomy and perpetuates a culture of control and domination.
To help curb this practice, health professionals must work based on scientific facts to prevent human rights violations associated with virginity testing. Also, schools should teach students about reproductive health, consent, and bodily autonomy, narratives around the hymen, virginity, and bleeding, especially to address gender stereotypes and myths around virginity. There must also be psychological, legal, and medical support provisions for girls and women subjected to this practice.
Conclusion
Virginity testing remains a harmful practice that reinforces gender inequality and strips women of their dignity and autonomy. Whether done in private or on display, it is a clear form of gender-based violence. To build a more just and inclusive society, we must end these invasive traditions and affirm every woman’s right to bodily integrity and respect.
Virginity testing is a harmful, humiliating, and unscientific practice that violates women’s rights and body autonomy.
