A tiny membrane defending 'us' against 'them': Arabic Internet debate about hymenorraphy in Sunni Islamic law

Abstract

In the Sunni Arab world, hymen repair has become a subject of considerable controversy due to a public statement of Egypt's Mufti Guma a in 2007. This paper analyses Guma a's position and the ensuing public debate about it as a means to study the larger conceptions of virginity and the hymen in Middle Eastern societies. In line with critical feminist studies it is shown that supporters as well as critics of the operation rely heavily on patriarchal arguments, views and rhetoric. Both share the societal vision that sexuality can only be lived out licitly in the framework of marriage and both agree that this ideal is in crisis. Where the two sides disagree is over the way in which this ideal should be protected, which derives from their conceptualisation of creation in general and female nature in particular. As a result, debate about hymen repair is not only not transforming social structures but is perpetuating them.