Togolese Virginity Testing

The AFP/Middle East Times on Wednesday examined the customary "akpema" ritual that girls and women ages 16 to 20 from Togo's northern based Kabye ethnic group must undergo to "graduate to womanhood." Akpema is a "time for traditional tests and virginity tests for the Kabye girls," according to Bekemsi, an elder of the Koumea village. Yaodem, the traditional chief of Togo's Pya-Tchamde village, said girls are "supposed to undergo certain traditional ceremonies, which vary depending on the village." He added, "But the true test is in the sacred forest where a girl must sit on a virginity stone opposite a traditional chief, to prove that she has never engaged in sexual intercourse." According to the AFP/Times, thousands of teenage girls have undergone the ritual. Those that successfully complete the rites receive an incision under their ear, which indicates that they come from a good family.

Sigh. Just like Cameroon's ironing of girls breasts, the horrific act of female genital mutilation, we see another culture that imposes its patriarchal morals onto girls and women. Of course, boys are not subject to this supposed purity test. Cause only girls and women are judged by their behavior. And my question is, how does she "prove" to this chief that she is a virgin? Let me guess, he has sex with her and unless she bleeds, she is not a virgin. And what of rape? A victim of rape is still viewed as a whore.