العذرية والرقابة الاجتماعية

Abstract

This article  explores "Virginity and Social Control" as a complex socio-cultural phenomenon intrinsically linked to honor cultures, local traditions, and social representations in Maghrebi and Mediterranean societies.

The author analyzes the mechanisms of social surveillance imposed on women's bodies and sexuality, specifically highlighting rituals such as the public demonstration of defloration (the proof of virginity on the wedding night) and patriarchal family dynamics—where male relatives act as guardians of family honor while women navigate or perpetuate these cultural expectations. The paper also incorporates comparative perspectives from other contexts (such as Senegal) to observe social shifts and changing attitudes toward premarital virginity.

The study concludes that women's bodily autonomy and self-determination require dismantling widespread medical and cultural misconceptions regarding virginity and the hymen, as well as breaking the social taboos that associate female sexuality with guilt and sin