January 22, 2025

Kanak Sarkar, a professor at the Jadavpur University in Kolkata, who has been teaching international relations for the last 20 years, has stirred a controversy in his post “Virgin Brides – Why Not?” which he subsequently deleted. Sarkar wrote in the post that a “virgin girl is like sealed bottle or sealed packet” and that “to most boys virgin wife is like angel.” It seems the professor carries a ‘virgin’ brain where changes in social mores are denied entry.

It is surprising and disgusting that a middle-aged professor holds such views. He is either not aware of how the hymen can be broken in other natural ways or is still living in the dark ages when girls were treated like commodities (“sealed bottles or packets”) and had no independence to take control of their own sexuality and the urges associated with it.

By stating that brides should remain virgins till marriage, the ‘learned’ professor is denying girls any right to explore their sexuality or the urges of their bodies before they get married. Amazingly, this, in his view, is applicable only for girls and boys, it seems, can indulge in unlimited philandering as their sexual organ is not “sealed.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that virginity testing should be banned as it leads to harmful mental and physical consequences.

It is sad that people who shape public opinion, especially teachers, put their outdated private views in the public domain. With the Supreme Court decriminalizing adultery mainly to stop women from being viewed as commodities and allowing them the same freedom as is available to men, recognizing live-in relationships and repealing Sec 377, society should acknowledge that there is no difference between the sexual urges of men and women and both should be equally free to do whatever they feel is right.

pic courtesy: cropped from a WHO image