A hymen reconstruction surgery — The Rag Blog
Hymenoplasty
RELATED STORIES
This is a procedure in which the hymen is surgically repaired. In countries like Tunisia, where women are coming from a conservative Muslim country, they have had to opt for this procedure to preserve their honour on their wedding night.
The operation takes around 30 minutes and costs from $550 to $960 with a less permanent version needing to be done within a week of the wedding, as the stitches hold.
Dr Faouzi Hajri, a Tunis-based gynaecologist said every April, before the summer wedding season, women who are not virgins come to him to restore their virginity.
Most of them, he said, are aged between 18 and 45, and come with their faces hidden behind a scarf and dark glasses.
They often come from working-class backgrounds, he said, adding that he treats about 100 women annually, including from neighbouring Libya and Algeria.
