virginity: solution to girl-child marriage--- NGO

Emeka Ibemere

The solution for lingering debate on the girl-child marriage going on in the Senate Chamber and in social media has been identified.

 Virgin Girls, a Non Government Organisation (NGO), with focal point on keeping and celebrating virgin girls in Nigeria has advised that the only solution to the much touted girl-child marriage across the country is chastity.

The group which spoke through its medical consultant, and a veteran gynaecologist, Dr Naheem Deen Ade Ekemode of Ekemode Memorial Hospital and Women’s Infirmary, pointed out that it is very important that young girls keep their virginity before marriage. He stressed that such step would help stop the fear of early marriages in the country.

On Monday 29 July, the Medical Consul-General of Muslim Medical Volunteers (MMV), while addressing journalists at a media briefing in Lagos, said culturally, young girls below the age of 16 years can be attached to their would-be husbands at early ages while they wait patiently till when they are ripe for marriages.

He maintained that these young girls are not supposed to be involved in any form of pre-marital sex until they are fully mature for real marriage.

Dr Ekemode further advised that while single young girls keep their virginity, it is equally important for them to marry early so as to avoid the problems associated with late marriages.

The Founder and National coordinator of the virgins' organisation, Princess Adediran Adunni, narrated how the organisation started. According to her, The Virgin Girls for four consecutive times has held their Miss Virginity Pageant in Lagos. The pageants, she said were usually preceded by a virginity test conducted at a hospital in Surulere before the day of the pageant proper.

"So far, we have kept and maintained over a thousand virgins. In 2010 alone, over 250 female adult virgins participated in that year’s edition of Miss Virginity contest”.

While accusing the various tiers of governments and mothers of not giving her adequate support and encouragement, Princess Adediran equally lamented the lukewarm attitude of the religious bodies, explaining that they have kept a distance from the virginity project.

“We have written to several churches across the country but we discovered they don’t have interest in what we are doing as none of them gave us audience”.

She however pointed out that funding has been their obstacle but added that the NGO got support from some well-meaning Nigerians such as the Lagos State governor who gave them financial assistance in 2008.

Princess Adediran strongly believes in the virgin project and said that such project should been seen as a tool to change the society. She also appealed to mothers, parents and well-meaning Nigerians to come up and support the project so as to build a better future for the young girls.

One of the challenges of the NGO according to her was acceptance from the society.

“I tell you one of our biggest problems is accepting the initiative. I found out that in Nigeria people still find it difficult to believe that we still have adult female virgins in our mist. The impression is that the world is a civilised place and issues such as girls’ virginity should not be discussed”, she said.

“Again fund has always been a major factor militating against the progress of the initiative. Most of the times we need to keep maintaining the girls so that they will not deviate from the norm”.
Another major challenge, she said is that the married virgins and even some of the ones that lost their virginity, find it difficult to identify with the organisation. This makes it difficult to keep records of members especially the old ones.

“I think this has to do with the stigmatisation attached to virginity that makes the situation so”.

However, Adediran made a firm believe that the concept will be made very attractive and competitive such that the negative impressions tagged on virgin girls disappear.

Appealing to Nigerians, the National Coordinator said that all she wants from Nigerians both home and abroad was to rise up and support her project. She called on all stakeholders, religious bodies, States, federal governments, parents, corporate organisations, international bodies to come up to support the programme which according to her was the only better solution to the controversial early marriage that has become a topical issue in the country.

The Virgin Girls is an NGO formed seven years ago. The organization targets at female virgins, who are identified and celebrated in a style with a lavish Beauty Pageant.

Prior to the celebration, the young girls usually of 15 years old, are tested by a veteran gynaecologist, Dr Naheem deen Ade Ekemode of Ekemode Memorial Hospital and Women’s Infirmary at 3B, Bode Thomas Street, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria.

The Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) has held their Miss Virginity Pageant for four consecutive times.

 The pageant is usually preceded by a virginity test conducted at a hospital in Surulere before the day of the pageant proper. So far, over 250 female adult virgins have indicated interest to take part in this year’s edition of Miss Virginity pageant coming up at the last quarter of this year.
Princess Adediran Adunni, 66-year old mother of six was born in Lagos Island, Lagos State. She attended Yaba College Academy where she got excellent results in GCE O/level and A/level exams in 1965 and 1973 respectively. Having been trained as a journalist under the auspices of Young Men Christian Association (YMCA), between 1968 and 1970, she worked as a Public Relations Officer for several notable companies before venturing into trade in 1973.
One thing the princess did not mention was whether she was a virgin before she got married or not.

Adediran believes that the virginity of a woman is the most precious thing and the most important aspect of any woman. Hear her: “Once a woman loses it, then the woman becomes less important to both the man she has lost it to and even the ones coming after”.

Since 2007, Princess Adediran initiated the Miss Virginity pageant through her NGO called The Nigerian Virgin Girls; very few Nigerians believed the initiative would see the light of the day.

 Four years later, the pageant has gradually turned into a household name in the Nigerian entertainment industry and other social circles. It started when the idea developed into medical confirmation of the virgins, presentation of gifts to the virgins and conduct of pageantry at the maiden edition.

Though, the novel pageant has since inception became a source of controversy among parents, teachers and even the religious bodies, the acceptance however has been quite encouraging.

 Those who criticise the project frowned at the concept. According to them, virginity itself is a taboo; let alone encouraging a girl for such test.

Despite all the odds and criticisms, Princess Adediran, a Lagos socialite and the publisher of Fragile Feet Magazine, has vowed not to
chicken out of her life dream. At least with the positive encouragement from youth especially young girls.

 She vowed to continue unabated.

 She therefore believes that with the massive turnout of young girls who voluntarily came out every year to participation in the show, the pageant has come to stay.

The Miss Virginity beauty pageant started like a child’s play. At the maiden edition that took place in 2007, girls were invited specially from all over the country to participate in the pageant but very few showed interest initially.

According to Adediran, only twelve girls indicated interest to come on that very day for the test. Due to the low turnout, the organisers were about to cancel the programme when somebody advised them to continue.

They heeded the advice and went ahead with the show. Surprisingly, that early morning, over 44 young girls stormed the Ekemode Memorial Hospital and Women’s Infirmary, Surulere, Lagos which
was the venue for the virginity test. All the girls who voluntarily came for the test were confirmed to be virgins by the gynaecologist- Dr Naheem deen Ade Ekemode.

The admission to Miss Virginity pageant is strictly designed for girls above the age of 16 and the virginity test is done voluntarily.

 “We admit young girls who have attained the age of 18 years. However, we can take up girls who are below that age but we must get their parents or guardian consent”. According to the coordinator, 44 virgins came when they started the pageant in 2007. The number increased to 48 in 2008. In 2009, 66 virgins participated and it pulled girls across the country. While some came from far away Kaduna, Anambra, Rivers, Plateau, Kano and Abuja other girls came from Ogun, Oyo Delta and some other neighbouring states. In 2010, the pageant was done twice in a year and 52 young girls came at the first one done late January while 68 came at the second pageant done in December 17th 2010 with their age bracket ranging from 16 to 32”. She explained.

It was also contested in 2011, about 250 virgins participated.

According to her, to make the pageant more attractive winners are giving the opportunity to have international exposure through travelling. Some are equally given scholarships to further their education.

“The idea behind it is just for me to contribute my quota to the society before I leave this world”, she said.

Other purposes that she wants to achieve with the project are to prevent and protect these young girls from unwanted pregnancies, abortions, heartbreak and HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases.

 “I weep when I see our young girls being maltreated by the opposite sex. Such treatments result to a lot of negative feelings. It could then trigger insanity, stress, unwanted pregnancies, abortions and the likes. You can imagine a situation where a girl is abandoned by a loved one. These loved ones not minding the implications then go ahead to marry another girl”, she narrated.

“It is very traumatising and these are the reasons I have decided to protect these young girls from such victimisations until they get married. All these social issues I have studied and started this initiative even though I know full well that some people might kick against it”.
Be that as it may, she said that is not her problem; “my concern is to introduce it and we are getting results. Today, if any of our virgin girls walk into that our hospital; she gets medical attention free of charge”

On what inspired her to start the beauty pageant.

“First, I am somebody who thinks very deeply about life. For instance, I believe in touching peoples’ life. I started this many years ago with the brand name-Just For You. It started with Just for You boutique in 1973. But in 1978 the then Obasanjo government banned the importation of foreign garments which made me to diversify into Just for You restaurant. It is the same Just for You concept that is celebrating the virgins today”. She said.

On controversial issue of virginity, Adediran said it was easy to find out whether a girl is a virgin or not. According to her that issue has been put to rest as the NGO has a gynaecologist who does the test free of charge. “To know them, it’s a very small job. We leave that to the experts and we have a veteran gynaecologist, Dr Naheem deen Ade Ekemode of Ekemode Memorial Hospital and Women’s Infirmary at 3B, Bode Thomas Street, Surulere, Lagos. He has been a medical director for his hospital for over 50 years. He can detect a virgin within one minute”. She added.

“During such sessions, we take great caution and we make sure that it is monitored and done decently. Due to his experience, the doctor knows how to notify the hymen without any problems”, she informed.

On those who fail the test, the Lagos socialite says that no punishment is given but the only
thing is that such girls will not get the certificate of virtue from the organisation which is issued to all confirmed virgins.



Why only female virgins. She said the NGO has accommodation for male virgins, but because it was not easy to identify whether a male is a virgin or not, the organisation has decided to first work on the girls exclusively before looking at the issue of the boys.

“From the beginning we have the boys in mind too but somehow we realised that it is extremely difficult to identify whether a boy is a virgin or not. As far as I can tell, I don’t think there is any kind of test so far to determine whether a boy is a virgin or not. However, we have planned to organise conferences, workshops and seminars on pre-marital sex for both the boys and the girls”, Princess said.

According to her, the virgins are expected to keep their virginity till they get married.

“That is our major concern. But we always advise them for early marriages so that they will not be tempted to lose their virginity. So far, we have recorded four virgin marriages and two of the girls have delivered babies and they are very successful in their homes. “Meanwhile, we don’t force them into any marriage, all we do is to guide them so that they live a decent life before they venture into marriage.”
While the coordinator is accusing mothers of not giving her adequate support and encouragement, she has equally lamented the lukewarm attitude of the religious bodies explaining that they have kept a distance from the virginity project. The only religious body that has shown interest and commendation in what she is doing is the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.

According to her, the Catholic Church is the only church that has written her officially to commend her for a job well done.

“We have written to several churches across the country but we discovered they don’t have interest in what we are doing as none of them gave us audience; last time we got a letter from His Eminence, Olubunmi Okogie, The then Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos commending us from what we are doing”
In all, funding has been the major obstacle of the NGO. Only very few Nigerians have assisted the organization in the past.

“We have got support from some well-meaning Nigerians. In 2008 December, we got some money from the Chief Of Staff of the Lagos State governor. Our Patron, the late Ambassador Segun Olushola and our patroness, Princess Abiola Dosunmu have been very helpful in that regard. Also our Deputy Patron, Baba Omojola and deputy patroness, Dr. Oluyemisi Pitan help us greatly.  I must commend the efforts of Emily Millionaire, for their support”.

She said Emily Millionaire, has been so magnanimous in giving out their cosmetics products to their virgin girls.

“My thanks also go to Rita Lori hotels, Surulere for their assistance in giving our virgin girls accommodation”.

Princess Adediran however, appealed to mothers, parents and well-meaning Nigerians to come up and support the project so as to build a better future for the young girls.

How the society viewed the organisation?  One of the challenges of the NGO according the Adediran is acceptance from the society.

“I tell you one of our biggest problems is accepting the initiative. I found out that in Nigeria, people still find it difficult to believe that we still have adult female virgins in our midst. The impression is that the world is a civilised place and issues such as girls’ virginity should not be discussed”, she said. “Again fund has always been a major factor militating against the progress of the initiative. Most of the times we need to keep maintaining the girls so that they will not deviate from the norm”
“I use to get threats from different quarters. Someone phoned me one day and said “Adediran you want to use these girls hymen for juju”. Another called and warned me to leave the girls alone. They even ask me if I was a virgin before I got married. You know such distractions come from here and there”. Funds to run the organisation are a major challenge of the group. For instance, the group is planning to have a befitting Secretariat in Lagos and also vehicles to run the project.

She said a lot of money is also needed to take care of the girls who come for the two-day show from all over the country; all these things, she added requires a lot of money to run them.
She further disclosed that another major challenge was that the married virgins and even some of ones that lost their virginity find it difficult to identify with the organisation.

This makes it difficult for the group to keep records of members especially the old ones.

“I think this has to do with the stigmatisation attached to virginity which makes the situation difficult”.

She however made a firm believe that the concept will be made very attractive and competitive such that the negative impressions tagged on virgin girls disappeared.
The call by some parents and religious bodies for the use of a female gynaecologist has also played its own tackle against the group.

Those who advocate female gynaecologists are of the view that it will give the pageants a wider participation and acceptance as most parents will not be very comfortable, for a male doctor to see their wards naked.

 “The doctor we are using is a very credible one and a veteran in gynaecology. We have done the tests for four times now without any hitches. Nobody has complained and the tests have been done with all sense of decency” She explains, adding that she challenges female doctors to come to their aid so as to make the pageant more attractive promising that a female gynaecologist will be brought into the picture as soon as one is available.