Morocco’s Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi has said that there is no law that requires pre-marriage virginity tests for women in Morocco.
Rabat – Morocco’s Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi has said that there is no law that requires pre-marriage virginity tests for women in Morocco.
El Khalfi’s statement came in response to a joint statement from the UN Human Rights Council, UN Women, and the World Health Organization (WHO), which called for a ban on virginity testing for women and girls worldwide last week.
The agencies called on nine countries where virginity tests are carried out, to ban them, saying they has no scientific basis.
“There is no examination that can prove a girl or woman has had sex-and the appearance of girl’s or woman’s hymen cannot prove whether they have had sexual intercourse, or are sexually active or not.”
El Khalfi responded in a press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting on Thursday that “Morocco’s family code asks for a medical certificate as a required document before marriage, but it has nothing to do with virginity test.”
The law requires the medical certificate to prove the health status of a couple before marriage.
He added that Morocco issued a decision in 2004, which stipulates that the certificate has to do with infectious diseases.
In their joint statement, WHO and the UN agencies said that the virginity test still exists in Brazil, Jamaica, Malawi, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, and India.
The agencies also argued that the test is a violation of human rights as it might undermine women’s physical, social, and psychological well-being.
Virginity has been under debate in Morocco. In February, the Moroccan Association of Sexology called on the Ministry of Health to exempt medical doctors from giving virginity certificates.
The association believes that the test violates both doctor’s oath of medical confidentiality and the right to privacy of women and girls.
