^Islamically zina is prohibited for both genders; there’s no leeway for either one.
But desi culture has its double standards regarding this issue. Why is that? I don’t know. But perhaps it has to do with the presumed notion that it’s easier to tell if a girl is a virgin or not…that the absence of a hymen means that she’s not a virgin. While medical science tells us that it’s possible that she was born without one or that it broke during exercise…some people don’t give this benefit of the doubt. Many women from conservative cultures will even have their hymens repaired…to make it seem like they’re a virgin. But since it’s harder to tell if a guy is a virgin…that could be one reason why there’s less pressure on them to remain chaste…whereas the opposite holds true for women.
Some parents dismiss their sons’ behavior with the “Boys will be boys” excuse. Maybe they think that since men are more sexual than women…it can be shrugged off more easily. Could it be that some girls are more forgiving because they think it’s harder for men to control their urges? While women are viewed to be less sexual…or more in control of their sexual urges…and to be otherwise creates a “loose” and “reckless” image.
I was helping a friend out with her psychology assignments. And I recently read that people can discriminate if the gender go against their stereotypes. For example, women in a typically male dominated field may be disrcriminated against because people assume that they must have “male” characteristics if they are in a majority male field. The assumption that they’re “less feminine” turns some people off. Is it possible then that control of sexual urges is seen as a female trait…and that promiscuity is seen as more of a male trait…and that a promiscuous female is seen as going against that societal expectation/stereotype?
Or is female promiscuity likened to prositution…and therefore society is more unforgiving of a promiscuous female than a promiscuous male???
And could it be that guys AND girls are more critical of promiscuous women because of the uprbinging they’ve had? Girls in desi culture are more sheltered, protected, watched over like a hawk. So…when a desi girl is promiscuous…it goes against the general upbringing and shocks both genders…even guys who have seen their own sisters raised in a very protective ands strict way.
********I’m not saying that any of the above reasons is a justification. It’s sad that such double standards exist.