A product designed to let women fake losing their virginity—an artificial hymen that can be inserted into the vagina before intercourse and releases “just the right amount” of a blood-like substance, according to the distributor—is being denounced by conservative Egyptian politicians and religious scholars, according to the Associated Press.
The product, sold by Chinese adult toy vendor Gigimo, costs about $30 and is expressly marketed for women as a way to let them “pass through undetectable.” Sold in a discreet box, the product is hailed on the Gigimo site as enabling you “to have your first night back anytime”—a prospect that has sparked controversy among members of the Islamic political group, the Muslim Brotherhood, who argue that it will only enable women to engage in deception, and succumb to temptation. Abdel Moati Bayoumi, a well known religious scholar in Egypt, told the AP that the “product encourages illicit sexual relations,” which are forbidden outside of marriage according to Islamic law. He, along with many conservative officials, feels that anyone who imports the product into Egypt should face serious punishment.
Of course, not everyone in Egypt was horrified by the possibility of women gaining access to the fake virginity kit. One female blogger told the AP that it could help level the playing field in a culture that often holds women to rigorous religious standards—sometimes still horrifically enforced by “honor killings”—while men generally have freedom to indulge their sexual desires.