Moroccan Activists Launch Online Dictionary to Combat Harmful Virginity Test Practices

The Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms (MALI) believes that virginity tests cause physical and psychological pain and have harmful consequences on women’s health. This is why this dictionary, available in Arabic, English and French and accessible online, has been published in order to "redefine terms that seem natural in our everyday language, but which were conceived centuries ago to oppress and undervalue women."

One can find in this work the definitions of several words, such as virginity, hymen, defloration, two-finger test, bed sheet test, artificial hymen kit, certificate of virginity, sexual violence, rape or even Article 488 of the Penal Code.

MALI presents each of these terms as "an archaic concept, which cannot and must not be the measure of the value of an individual, nor give them any additional value." The dictionary offers a kind of deconstruction and unmasked rereading of the concepts related to female virginity and sexuality. It contains many articles written by international organizations such as the United Nations, UN Women and the World Health Organization, to denounce virginity tests. Moreover, for about four years, this practice has been considered a violation of human rights by the United Nations.

Regarding opposition to the virginity test, MALI had launched a digital campaign last year in Arabic, English and French, on the symbolism of "bed sheets," a tradition presented as a humiliation for women.