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Celebrating female virgins in Nigeria

Theo Egwuonwu is a pharmacist, who from his past relationships had never felt ready taking any lady to the altar; not until he met Angela (nee Ejiaka) after she won Miss Virginity 2008.

After six months of courtship, he concluded he had found his missing rib and they got married in 2009.

The Egwuonwus were present at the third edition of the celebration of Nigerian virgin girls who, from various parts of the country, came together over the weekend at Surulere, Lagos State, to publicly proclaim their decision to remain chaste until their wedding day.

At the event organised by Just For You Media, a non-governmental organisation promoting moral values among Nigerian youth, Ikem Augusta, a 20-year-old Delta State indigene beat 45 other females, aged between 16-30, to become Miss Virginity 2010.

“I am glad to have won. My advice to other girls is that it pays to wait because virginity is too special to give to just anybody. As an African woman, I am proud to be a virgin and I have decided not to give up my dignity till I get married,” said Miss Augusta, a 100 level computer science student of the Delta State University.

Another virgin, from Kogi State, 22-year-old Hauwa Ibrahim, a Mass Communications student of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, said her Muslim father was surprised when she told him in 2008 that she wanted to join the Nigerian Virgin Girls. She now participates yearly.

“I have a lot of guys as friends so people did not believe I was a virgin, even my father. But after I went in 2008, people now believe and respect me. Of course, there are guys who want more than friendship. But I always tell them my position. Some stay as friends, while some go,” she said.

Prior to the virginity pageantry, the 46 ladies were examined by Dr. Naheem-Deen Ekemode, a gynaecologist with 35 years experience.

“I examined the girls without penetration while a nurse stood by all through. It was a physical examination by observation meaning that only with my eyes do I look to see if the hymen, which is a membrane, is there or if it has been damaged. And all the girls I certified them as virgins,” said Dr. Ekemode.

Addressing the ladies, Dr. Ekemode said medically, a girl who keeps her virginity is saving herself from contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) which could lead to gynaecological complications.

“Complications from STDs like gonorrhea and others can lead to pelvic inflammatory diseases. And this results in the Fallopian tube being blocked and causes so many other prevalent cases of infertility,” declared Dr. Ekemode, whose medical qualifications span across Africa and Europe.

Advising the virgins to marry preferably between the ages of 18- 26, Dr. Ekemode said complications such as fibroid could arise in women who keep their virginity for too long. He also spoke on the fertility period of females.

“Fibroid grows when the womb is too dormant and nothing is happening there. So keep your virginity but don’t keep it for too long. Also, the peak of a woman’s fertility is at 18 years. By 36 years, a woman has lost two-third of her fertility down to about 45 years when she reaches menopause,” Mr. Ekemode added.

The initiator of the Nigerian Virgin Girls and president of Just For You Media, Adunni Adediran, said her mission is to instil good morals in Nigerian girls, for them to keep their dignity and remain virtuous. She said yearly, certified virgins are given certificates of virtue as proof for posterity.

“Too many girls are being used and dumped by men who promise them heaven but give them hell. Many of them have unwanted pregnancies, many STDs, some even HIV/AIDS. Every girl who keeps her virginity till her wedding day is not only a pride to her and her husband,and their families, but also the nation,” said Mrs. Adediran.

Miss Virginity winner for 2009, Titilayo Odekeye, 24, and a graduate from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, said being the immediate past virgin queen has resolved her will to preach the message of virtue even as she awaits her national youth service call-up.

“When I told my parents I wanted to join, they encouraged me. And until I joined, I never believed there are as many virgins like me. Anywhere I go now, I’ll always support this foundation because the foundation needs more sponsorship for the message to spread,” Miss Odekeye affirmed.

Also at the event, were Nigeria’s former ambassador to Ethiopia and Djiboutu, Segun Olusola; the Erelu of Lagos, Abiola Dosunmu; and other dignitaries who praised the virgins for their decision to “live a life of respect and dignity”.

Commenting on the celebration of virgins in a telephone interview, Bunmi Dipo-Salami, the principal consultant of LaRen Consulting, a development and social change organisation focusing on youth empowerment, said such celebrations are gender biased.

“Yes, some aspects of our culture should be preserved but if for a girl to validate herself as a virgin she has to be examined and go through all this while this is not the case with men, then I think it is gender discrimination. And this is a big problem because it is not adding anything to the development of the nation,” said Mrs. Dipo-Salami.

For Mr. Egwuonwu, who now has a three-months-old daughter, marrying a virgin has remained one of the best decisions in his 35 years of life. He said he has never felt as much love and respect for any other woman as he has for his wife.

“My relationship with her was different from previous relationships. And since we got married, there is hardly any friction. It was not hard showing her how some things are done and she has adapted well. Based on my experience, yes, I’ll advice every man to marry a virgin,” Mr. Egwuonwu declared.