>According to the laws of Deuteronomy, if a man takes a wife and after the wedding he slanders her by saying that she was not a virgin at the time they got married, “then the girl’s father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl’s father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity. Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town” (Deuteronomy 22:12-17).

In many places, the evidence of a woman’s virginity is still required by the family of the groom. An example of this practice is found in a story reported in The Daily Telegraph of Australia:

On her wedding night, Aisha Salim will hand her blooded sheets to her in-laws as proof of her virginity.

But there’s one problem: Like most woman her age, Aisha has smoked, drank, had sex and even lived with one of her past boyfriends.

However, if the family of her soon-to-be husband – or even her own family – knew this, she could be killed.

Aisha has therefore opted to have her virginity surgically restored in a delicate but painful surgery called hymenoplasties – where the hymen is re-created from the already torn tissue, or a new membrane is inserted.

Read this sad story by clicking here.

This practice, as stated in this law, is practically unworkable, since the absence of blood after the first intercourse does not say anything about the virginity of the bride. The intent of the law was to preserve family honor since the woman’s behavior would bring shame to her father and her husband.

The law did not work then and it does not work now.

Claude Mariottini
Profesor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Marriage, Virginity