Taboos and Fear among Muslim Girls

By Güner Balci for Der Spiegel

Young Muslim women are often forced to lead double lives in Europe. They have sex in public restrooms and stuff mobile phones in their bras to hide their secret existences from strict families. They are often forbidden from visiting gynecologists or receiving sex ed. In the worst cases, they undergo hymen reconstruction surgery, have late-term abortions or even commit suicide. . . For the girls, the worst thing is to be stigmatized as prostitutes, says Leila. “The entire family’s honor is dependent on the virginity of the daughters.” Sometimes girls call their fathers from her office at Papatya, only to hear shouted responses like: “Now you’re a whore.”

A French postcard of Arab prostitutes waiting for trade outside of their accommodation. Postcard dates from around 1910, with the original photograph probably being taken in Morocco. Old Picture Postcards

This girl is said to be Algerian. Maybe she is a sex worker.

These are said to be Bangladeshi girls. I don’t know whether they have sex and money on their minds or not.

—Laura Agustín, the Naked Anthropologist