I am not virgin (anymore): When girl's virginity is questioned (by a man)

Mornin' guys,

Although the sky is not bright enough, I get Hove's morning sunlight from my flat's window. It's so fresh when I feel the smooth wind and see the beach from the window. So beautiful Saturday though!!

While I am hearing Sarah McLachlan's songs, my memory return to a comment of mine in The Jakarta Post few days ago. I wrote a comment on a news of the newspaper; 'Councillors mull virginity as criteria for enrolment'. Actually, I got this news from my Indonesian housemate. She told me 'have you heard that a councillor of Jambi Province reveals the issue of virginity test for school age girls?... wow..wow..wow... I was shock and my first comment on that question is 'woooooottt??' (British bangeeetttsss!!! hehe....). And then I said: 'Ohhh...shame on him (the councillor)!!'... It's stupid idea that I ever heard!!... How can he has 'silly' idea like that??... etc... etc... etc deh!! I believe that the main reason is not solely 'concern on morality', rather is sensation matters.

The discourse of Virginity (of girls) as Criteria for School Enrolment seems a 'crazy' strategy to control personal life and morality, girls' lives in particular (the councillor underlines 'morality' in his statement as the main reason of the notion).

I cannot understand how he revealed the issue that it could be seen against human rights, opposites MDGs and even the Indonesian Constitution? Does he know the national development programmes? He is a member of the state apparatus (legislative), how can he say that girls cannot go to school? Does he understand how important education for girls as well as boys is? Education is not merely 'education'. It does mean 'the future'. Education is not only how to produce educated people, but also how to create knowledgeable people and then hope it preserves humanity (bener ga sih?). It could be dignity!! So, how could this man (the councillor) think 'only the virgin girls deserve to get education'?. What is kind of state (or country) that he want to create?. The virgin state?...phewww!! Let me quote Andrea Cornwall's Marginalisation by Sexuality: Report of an IDS Workshop:

'Prevailing gender orthodoxies in development thinking often make it difficult to think beyond the stereotypes of the brutalising man and the victimised woman.... Sex and sexuality have implications for development that go well beyond the frames that currently exist, whether in relation to health and gender (2006:274)'.

You see... 'brutalising man and the victimised woman'. That's really brilliant words to describe the issue of virginity test in Jambi Province. Women always being victim of men when women (private) business is brought to public. Virginity is very very very personal thing that girls have (a question: is man questioned their virginity too?). For most of Indonesian women, they prefer to give it (virginity) to their husbands (not partners) at the first day of their wedding night. Even in most cases, their mothers do not know about their daughters' virginity at all. Can you imagine how hard the girls to answer a question (from strangers) about their virginity are? And they (don't know who they are...) test the virginity without any concerns on the girls' permissions (and their voices). It is clear that sexual control on (women) girls by the test is a part of insensitiveness nature of politician (man) in Indonesia, Jambi Province in particular. Do you know what will happen if the girl do not pass the test and say; I am not virgin? People will see her 'weird' with a (common) social judgement : 'immoral'. Then, the girl lives with new 'status': no school, no friend, isolated, no job, no money, and finally NO FUTURE!! And next, the girl is still under man's control in whole her life.

There are sexual and non-sexual reasons for women's subordinate status... these reasons interact and reinforce one another in many different ways.. (Nussbaum, 1999 in Jolly, 2010:79)

For most Indonesian people, perhaps, (girls) virginity is important (of course), but it cannot be an excuse to discriminate a girl and prohibit her to go school if she is not virgin anymore. This issue challenges the gender mainstreaming in the state institutions, including the regional house of representative (DPRD). I think there is a big question mark in my mind; Does politicians, at national and regional level, understand the meaning of gender mainstreaming? How can they link the regional issues and the development programmes, especially what are stated in RPJM (Middle-term development planning) and also the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? Yeaa... the irony is that when the government makes hard effort to combat intergenerational poverty through promotion of education-related programmes, this guy (the councillor) comes with his 'silly' moral idea about virginity test of teenage girls before they enter the gate of school as new students.

Perhaps, he concerns about young people' morality (I think he's very kind man), e.g. free sex activity before marriage. Perhaps, he is trying to reveal a strategy how protect girls from underage pregnancy (because of free sex) that leads to other issues; increasing the number of mortality (young mothers and babies), school dropout, unemployment, etc... But I think, the virginity test is not an effective way to solve the problem, rather creates new problems in society. It could be seen that the virginity test abuse girls' sexual and human rights. If all elements in society; the government, religious leaders, parents, teachers, and so forth concern on the teenagers' future, perhaps, sex education in school from teachers and experts and at home from parents is one solution to 'warn' teenage, boys and girls, to protect themselves from 'inappropriate and immoral' (I borrow from the councillor's thought) activities. Hope they understand that their future is more bright if they realise that there are a lot things to do, rather free sex before marry. Let us think seriously what will happen if some 'powerful people' preserve 'inequality' in development in many ways (on behalf tradition and religious morality) without any 'knowledge' beyond the issues.

And then, I am still questioning: is female virginity too important for male?????

9th October 2010
17 Grand Avenue
Hove

PS: I love Indonesia but maybe Indonesian people, especially who live in Jambi Province, should think a thousand times before they vote their representative (like this man)...


Source:

Cornwall, A., 2006. Marginalisation by Sexuality: Report of an IDS Workshop. Routledge: London.

Cornwall, A., Jolly, S., 2006. Introduction: Sexuality Matters. IDS Bulletin. 37 (5): 1-11.

Jolly, S., 2010. 'Queering' Development: Exploring the Links between Same-Sex Sexualities, Gender and Development. Routledge: London.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://halat.com/virginity.jpg&imgrefurl

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/atheism/1/0/6/4/3/Protect-Her-Virginity-e.jpg&imgrefurl