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Syrian legislation is riddled with terms that define women based on their bodies and sexuality. An unmarried woman is treated differently from a married one, with the hymen serving as a key factor in these distinctions.
Mona recounts her surprise when, at the religious court, the official drawing up her marriage contract asked, “Are you a ‘bikr’ or a ‘thayyib'[1],( the ancient Arabic terms for virgin or non-virgin). She only understood their significance after inquiring. Later, she encountered terms like “mawtou’a” (one who has had intercourse) and “mankûha” (already married), legal terms that determined her dowry—whether partial or full—and whether she required a ‘guardian’ at the time of her marriage.
Wafa, on the other hand, recalls her painful experience with bitterness: “I was sexually assaulted, but the worst abuse came from the law itself. The investigator’s questions were humiliating: ‘Did he insert his penis into your vagina? Did you go out with him willingly? Were you a virgin?’ Even the forensic doctor didn’t classify it as rape because he found no redness or perforation of my hymen.”
A quick look at Syrian law reveals a shocking number of terms that degrade women. These terms reduce them to sexual objects, with their rights determined by their physical attributes.
Lawyer Lamiss Makhlouf explains: “We deplore the many legal terms used in marriage contracts, but we are bound by them. Derived from Sharia law, terms like ‘bikr’ (virgin) refer to a woman with an intact hymen, while ‘thayyib’ (non-virgin) refers to a woman who has lost hers. Marriage is defined as the union of a man and a woman through the reproductive organ via a marriage contract. For a non-virgin, the situation is different; she has more authority over herself than her guardian, as she can accept or reject the marriage, and her consent must be verbal. In contrast, a virgin’s silence is sufficient as consent.”
Islamic Perspectives on Dowry
The website “Islam Web” explains that the term “mahr al-mithl” (equivalent dowry) is based on various criteria used to differentiate women and assess their dowries. These include beauty, social status, financial situation, lineage, and marital status. Virginity, or its absence, is also considered in this evaluation.
Women’s Bodies as Commodities in a Patriarchal Society
The commodification of women’s bodies has deep patriarchal roots. In his book Al-Mughni, Ibn Qudama[2], referring to a woman who has had intercourse in an invalid marriage, states: “The dowry of a virgin is higher than that of a remarried woman (thayyib) due to the loss of virginity, and the increase in the dowry compensates for this loss.” Dowries are thus seen as compensation for the “value” of virginity.
The Hymen as a Legal Criterion
Makhlouf notes that the Syrian Penal Code, like many in other Arab countries, defines rape as “sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent, by vaginal penetration.” Indecent assault is described as “any act against decency, committed by one person on another, that harms their honour, chastity, or dignity.” For an act to be classified as rape, the law requires penetration sufficient to touch and redden the hymen, and the victim must be under the age of twelve.
Certified translator Ruba Khaddam Al-Jamaa reflects on the difficulty of translating terms like “defloration” or “hymen rupture” into other languages, where such concepts seem absurd because no equivalent exists. She criticizes the way the law interferes with women’s intimate lives by using terms that carry moral judgments, which restrict their rights. “Why should a marriage contract mention whether a woman is a virgin or has been deflowered? Why call it a ‘nikâh contract’ (marriage contract)?”
In her work, Ruba struggled to find exact equivalents for terms like ‘nikâh’, ‘bikr’, and ‘thayyib’. She translates ‘nikâh’ as ‘marriage’, ‘bikr’ as ‘never married’, and ‘thayyib’ as ‘previously married’. Terms like ‘mawtou’a’ (having had intercourse) and ‘mankûha’ (a woman with whom one has copulated) are so degrading in Arabic that they are barely conceivable, even in their original language. She adds that “defloration” has fallen out of use in English, as it is associated with an outdated era and is now ridiculed.
Physical Criteria rather than Citizenship
In Syria and many Arab countries, laws rely on physical criteria to define women’s rights, which exacerbate gender inequality. Feminist activist Aliya Ahmad argues that such criteria marginalize women, restricting their freedom and participation in society. These laws perpetuate negative stereotypes, treating women as dependent beings whose worth is defined by their bodies, rather than recognizing them as full citizens with independent human rights.
Aliya stresses that these laws reduce women to biological and sexual functions, limiting their choices and freedoms. They often deny women justice in cases of rape, early marriage, or remarriage, thereby legalizing discrimination and violence against them.
In conclusion, there is an urgent need to reform these laws by adopting a humanist language and to institutionalise gender in the constitution. This would ensure that sexual assault is treated as rape, regardless of the state of the hymen, consent, or family ties, and put an end to the humiliating labels that reduce women to ‘maûtû’a’ and ‘mankûha’. It would also protect women’s bodily autonomy from invasive legal scrutiny.
