There is one FM radio channel in Sri Lanka which must be congratulated for its investigative reporting. It is in Sinhala and the station is known as "NETH FM".

Just a couple of days ago they interviewed a registered medical practitioner approved by the Sri Lanka Medical Council who was engaged in surgically giving back the lost virginity to young girls of school going age and when needed, even to women who had given birth to children during their stay in the Middle East as housemaids etc. (For obvious reasons his name and place of work were withheld.) He said unlike abortion, replacing the virginity was perfectly legal and even most ethical and charitable in a country where the mother-in-law examines the bedsheets after the first night!

I remember seeing Sanath Gunatilaka in the famous film ‘Deveni Gamana’ or the second honeymoon where the innocent bride proves her virginity. Every mother-in-law in this island (strangely not the father-in-law!) insists on ‘forensic’ proof of her daughter-in-law’s virginity. If there is no blood, no virginity they say though medical opinion is, at least 20% of the brides, however pure and innocent, may not be able to pass the bloody test!

To return to the FM radio interview, the doctor said that he always has a waiting-list of about 125 and the average waiting time is one month or a bit less. He engages a duly qualified anaesthetist and there are two kinds of surgery (a) where the virginity is guaranteed for only 18 days because the catgut dissolves after that and the (b) is for 5 years. The second operation is done under general anaesthesia and there is some pain during the healing process for which he prescribes painkillers.

Even an MRCOG is fooled by these two operations, he claimed.

The 18 day virginity is to please brides who are about to get married but he said that it was a bride’s busiest time and running to a surgery was not practical. Each operation takes about 1 1/2 hours at the theatre and even the other doctors at the hospital do not know since medical ethics prevents a doctor from revealing such secrets to anybody.

When this surgeon was asked to describe his catchment area he said once he had a policewoman from the North Central province.

They usually come alone and when they hear of the fee (muted during the interview) some girls cry and go back to their villages to return months later with the required sum.

By the way, the more expensive operation which guarantees virginity for 5 years will also cause more pain during the first night with more bleeding because the sutured area has to be torn apart.

The doctor said that this operation can be done by any surgeon at any operating theatre but some nursing homes charge lakhs! Only the very well-to-do families patronise them.

According to his observations at least 40% of the girls in Sri Lanka today have lost their virginity either at school, university or workplace.

He said that brothels (usually operated by politicians and high ranking police officers) charge an exorbitant fee from foreign sex-maniacs who insist on Virgins. He said such women come to him again and again to regain their ‘lost virginity’ but at a price.

This writer hopes that prospective mothers-in-law who are searching for virgins for their sons will not read this article!