In yet another horrendous case of so-called "honor killing," a man in Iraq beat his sister, a newlywed bride, to death, because her husband suspected she was not a virgin.
The bride's father also died of a stroke as a result of hearing the husband's accusations.
According to media reports citing an official source, a post-mortem autopsy revealed the victim had died with her hymen intact.
According to Annahar, the husband reportedly took his new wife back to her parents' house in the Najaf governorate the morning after their wedding night.
The husband claimed she was not a virgin and had a "loose hymen," saying there were no signs of her hymen breaking.
After hearing these claims, the wife's father suffered a sudden stroke and died instantly. Meanwhile, her brother violently beat her head with a sharp object until she passed away.
Authorities arrested the perpetrator soon after, and the penalty he will face is yet to be determined.
The deceased had an "elastic" hymen
According to the autopsy requested by her mother, the victim had a type of "elastic" hymen that does not break even after experiencing intercourse multiple times.
The crime is a testament to the numerous misconceptions regarding women's sexual and reproductive health, particularly when it comes to the hymen - a small membrane inside the opening to the vagina.
This comes as there is a widespread belief that women should bleed - as a result of breaking their hymen - when they have sex for the first time.
However, specialists have confirmed that there are different types of hymens, each of which reacts to intercourse in a different manner.
Additionally, some females are born without a hymen, while others might break their hymens for reasons unconnected to sexual intercourse, such as stretching and horseback riding.
Social media uproar
The crime has drawn public outrage on social media, stirring debate on the concepts of "honor" and virginity in the Arab world:
"An entire family has been destroyed because of a hymen"
"A man died, a girl was killed, and a boy was imprisoned... An entire family has been destroyed because of a hymen. May God curse Arabs and their fake honor."
Women are fed up with society's obsession with their virginity ...
And with the concept of virginity in general
There is simply no valid reason to justify the crime
Where's the honor in murder?
Ignorance at its worst
"This is the result of ignorance, backwardness and rashness, unfortunately."