Dynamics of Female Virginity in Iran

Female virginity, accorded a great deal of value, is established as a normative societal guideline in Iran. As a symbol of virtue and promise, it is a primary condition for a woman’s first marriage. The considerable number of virginity certificates issued by the Legal Medicine Organization in Iran both indicates the cultural significance of virginity and carries connotations of anxiety for those who lack it. Despite the existing sensitivity around the issue, the rate of hymenoplasty is increasingly high. Since hymen repair surgery is illegal in the country, there are no official statistics, yet the frequent interviews and reports by independent journalists, NGOs, feminists, websites and radio channels reflect the significance of the issue. While admitting the role of religion, I suggest that Islam is only one of the several dynamics in the complex discourse of virginity, and that different dimensions of female virginity need to be examined in the cultural, historical, economic and political context of Iran. Taking a social constructionist approach in examining different dynamics of female virginity within Iranian culture, the paper illustrates the complex interconnections between religion, economy and politics in perpetuating female virginity as a normative value. I argue that women, who undergo hymenoplasty, take a mimetic strategy which conforms and undermines the norm. Regarding the increasing growth of secular beliefs among the young generation, I also suggest that men’s support of women’s premarital sex in the name of modernization should be read within the concept of male homosocial bonding.