Groom sues bride for £4,000 for ‘not being a virgin’

A bride in Tajikistan has been taken to court for ‘not being a virgin’ on her wedding night.

Suhrob, 30, is suing his wife for £4,000 a few weeks after their ceremony in his home village on the outskirts of the capital Dushanbe.

He is alleging that the 22-year-old was not a virgin when they married and is demanding that she reimburse him for the wedding and dowry.

The bride and her family denied the accusation and countersued Suhrob for defamation, winning £900 in compensation for moral damages, RFE/RL reported citing court documents.

‘I did not work in the cold in Russia to save money to marry someone who is not a virgin,’ said Suhrob, who is appealing the decision.

‘I told her I would have married someone else had I known this situation.’

Premarital sex is deemed unacceptable in conservative, Muslim-majority Tajikistan, where women face a lifetime of shame if they are accused of not being a virgin on their wedding night.

The country is among around 20 others where the so-called virginity tests – that are not backed by actual science – are still forced on women and girls.

The procedure, which involves an inspection of their genitalia meant to determine if they have had vaginal intercourse, is often ‘painful, humiliating and traumatic’.

Most often, it is carried out to establish marriage eligibility or upon the request of employers for employment eligibility.

Doctors, police officers, or community leaders are allowed to perform it on women and girls in order to assess their virtue, honour or social value.

The United Nations has been urging for this long-standing tradition to be outlawed, arguing that the emphasis on women’s ‘virginity’ – a social, cultural and religious construct – is a form of gender discrimination.

‘These examinations are not only a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights, but in cases of rape can cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatization and re-victimisation,’ a statement from the UN said,

‘Many women suffer from adverse short- and long-term physical, psychological and social consequences of this practice.

‘This includes anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. In extreme cases, women or girls may attempt suicide or be killed in the name of “honour”.

‘Performing this medically unnecessary and harmful test violates several human rights and ethical standards including the fundamental principle in medicine to “do no harm”.

‘WHO recommends that this test should not be performed under any circumstances.’

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