An American bride aged 22 sparked controversy online last week, when during her wedding reception, she presented her daddy with a signed document from her gynaecologist proving that she had remained a virgin until marriage.

Brelyn Bowman had fulfilled the pledge she made to her father when she was 13. Her father, Pastor Mike Freeman, couldn’t contain his pride.

Brelyn’s new husband, 28-year-old gospel singer, Tim Bowman Jr, says he too was a virgin until marriage and “couldn’t be more happy or proud” that his wife made the same decision.

In African traditions, a woman couldn’t have sex until she got married. Pre-marital sex was frowned upon, and having a child out of wedlock was taboo.

That was then.

Today, it is almost impossible - even among staunch, front-pew church goers - to find weddings where the bride and groom are virgins. The ‘pure’ white bridal gown nowadays comes in hues of cream, red, muddy brown, or even midnight black. Other brides avoid the white gown for African prints. Virginity is no longer valued and cherished.

Young couples have indeed defied traditions. Sex out of wedlock, either out of peer group pressure, is no longer a big deal.

Does this spell doom for the once-prized virginity?

Dr Alex Mureithi who runs a private clinic in the city says medically, the hymen (a membrane that surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening) has no usefulness in a woman’s body.

“There is no scientific research that spells out the importance of the hymen. Others think it protects the vagina from infection, but it is simply a vestigial tissue. Just like the appendix, it serves no purpose. It might have in the earlier stages of evolution played a role, but it’s also not very clear what role it could have played from such depths.”

Despite having no role in a woman’s body, the hymen has huge religious and moral value in society.

Sheikh Juma Ngao, a prominent Muslim cleric and the chair of Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council says sex out of wedlock has become a norm, contrary to the teachings of the Quran and the Bible.