After all, if successfully used, it could get in the way of some stonings in the Middle East, and some honor killings elsewhere. Members of the Egyptian parliament have called for its banning; it's that big a deal. Of course, there are two angles to play here: One is pandering to the clerics and supporters of more stringent Sharia (in a country where the vast majority of women have undergone female genital mutilation). The other concerns the fact that it's easier to harp on the alleged moral failings of an already subjugated segment of society -- one that is "deficient in religion and intellect," according to Muhammad (Bukhari 1.6.301) -- than to address corruption, unemployment, and other issues.

"Egypt anger over virginity faking," by Magdi Abdelhadi for BBCNews, September 28:

A leading Egyptian scholar has demanded that people caught importing a female virginity-faking device into the country should face the death penalty.

Abdul Mouti Bayoumi said supplying the item was akin to spreading vice in society, a crime punishable by death in Islamic Sharia law.

The device is said to release liquid imitating blood, allowing a female to feign virginity on her wedding night.

Understatement in 3... 2...

There is a stigma about pre-marital sex in some conservative Arab societies.

The contraption is seen as a cheap and simple alternative to hymen repair surgery, which is carried out in secret by some clinics in the Middle East.

It is produced in China and has already become available in other parts of the Arab world.

The device is reported to be on sale in Syria for $15.

Professor Bayoumi, a scholar at the prestigious al-Azhar University, said it undermined the moral deterrent of fornication, which he described as a crime and one of the cardinal sins in Islam.

Members of parliament in Egypt have also called for banning import of the item.