Marco Pelosi II, a gynecologist in Bayonne, New Jersey, has been performing hymen repair since 1975 and says that his procedures save the mental anguish associated with not being a virgin. "For a woman that has been raped, is it fair that she be raped all over again by being shamed because of a broken hymen that wasn't her fault?” he asks. “How about the girl who was tricked into sex? No one used to talk about it, but that has changed."

For me, common sense does not seem to cut it anymore. The value of virginity is greater than ever–price tag, $2,800-$4,000.

I can see the new movie coming to Middle Eastern cinema: “The Hymen: International Obsession.” Where did this obsession come from?

Named after Hymen, the Greek god of marriage, the vaginal protective has served as the marker of virginity. This is the case even though it can be ruptured by nonsexual activity, including sports such as horseback riding (which is why in many parts of the Middle East there is little in the way of organized athletics for women). In early times, a bride's intact hymen was widely considered the only method to ensure the paternity of any ensuing children. Anytime you quote historical mythology to give basis to what is judged today, you know there are problems.

Times have changed on our attitudes in so many other aspects of life that it would be wonderful to embrace the romantic notion that love and trust should outweigh anything else.

It's a slippery slope though because in many circles in the United States and Canada, it's a shame to be a virgin (or simply not cool), while in the Middle Eastern world, virginity is an honor and a sign of virtue. I don't see why women don't bond together and unite for more equality, and with a bigger voice, demand that men follow the same rules. I trust that in the right hands it can happen, and I love the dream that it will.

What in the world is going on?

In this day and age, prominent Malaysian lecturer Abu el Hasan al Hafez is encouraging women to wear chastity belts to ensure better protection from rape. During a lecture, he once said that women will feel "safer" if they protect their vaginas. He insisted that his aim is not to demean women, but to protect them. He reminded his listeners that Malaysian women wore chastity belts up until the mid 1960s. In other words, he's not inventing the idea, but encouraging a return to a useful tradition.

I'm sorry, but this is the "logical" extension of the argument: Punish women to protect them from men, either by segregating them and restricting their movement, covering them or locking them in a chastity belt.

Here's what a protected woman's day would look like: She gets up in the morning, puts on her chastity belt (in case she forgot to put it back on during the night), gives the key to her husband or brother or son, who hopefully won't lose it. She stays at home all day, and if she really must go out, she has to take someone with her for protection. If no one is available, and she ventures out into the dangerous world, she only has herself to blame if she gets raped.

Now, can someone please tell me why all men are not offended by this blatant show of sexism?

I recall a short story called "Sultana's Dream," by Rokeya Hussain. In it, Sultana, falls asleep one day only to find herself in a Utopian society called Ladyland. In this place, gender roles are reversed. Women roam the streets freely, while men are kept in segregation at home. The justification is that since men are "dangerous" to women because of their nature, they, not women, should be locked away. No sense punishing the victim. The society is free of crime and exploitation, and it is scientifically advanced thanks to women's universities that taught women to master science and positively use natural resources. It is ruled by a wise queen who won the last war (which the men lost) through her own cleverness and that of the other women.

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