A final-year medical student of Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Zakariya Mansur, has clarified that the absence of bleeding during a woman’s first sexual intercourse does not indicate that she is not a virgin.
Mansur, who is also a medical education and health awareness advocate, explained that there is no medically reliable physical sign that can be used to confirm female virginity.
He disclosed that his explanation followed a recent marital dispute in which a husband accused his wife of not being a virgin because there was no bleeding during their first sexual encounter.
According to him, while some women may experience slight bleeding during first-time intercourse, many do not, and this is medically normal.
“Bleeding may occur, but it is not universal. The absence of bleeding does not mean prior sexual activity, just as the presence of bleeding does not prove virginity,” he said.
Speaking via his official Facebook page, Mansur described the widespread belief that the hymen must tear and bleed during first intercourse as misleading and medically inaccurate.
He noted that in many women, the hymen is elastic and stretches rather than tears, resulting in no bleeding, while some women are born with little or no hymenal tissue.
The medical student added that the hymen can also stretch due to non-sexual activities such as cycling, gymnastics, tampon use, or medical examinations, stressing that such activities do not affect virginity.
He further explained that adequate arousal, natural lubrication and gentle penetration can reduce friction and tissue injury, thereby lowering the likelihood of bleeding.
Mansur cautioned against using bleeding as a measure of a woman’s moral or sexual history, describing such expectations as medically unfounded and potentially harmful to marriages and relationships.