Would-be husband slices off own penis

01 June 2009 | 09:14:41 AM | Source: AP

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A man who was denied permission to marry a lower class girl in Egypt has cut off his own penis in protest (Getty Images)

A 25-year-old Egyptian man cut off his own penis to spite his family after he was refused permission to marry a girl from a lower class family, police reported on Sunday.

After unsuccessfully petitioning his father for two years to marry the girl, the man heated up a knife and sliced off his reproductive organ, said a police official.

The young man came from a prominent family in the southern Egyptian province of Qena, one of Egypt's poorest and most conservative areas that is also home to the famed ancient Egyptian ruins of Luxor.

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Reattachment unsuccessful

The man was rushed to the hospital but doctors were unable to reattach the severed member, the official added citing the police report filed after the incident.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with the press, added that the man was still recovering in the hospital.

Traditionally, marriages in these conservative part of southern Egypt are between similar social classes and often within the same extended families - and are rarely for love.

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Your Comments

02 Jun 2009 3:02 AEST

Michael*

From: Santa Monica, CA.,US

Marriage and Traditions

It is just mind numbing to me and the truly caring, rational humans, that the concept of marriage is stuck in the dark ages of selfishness, borne from the archaic dogma when alchemy was science and cultural beliefs were the truth. We certainly don't stone non-virgins on their wedding nights any longer, nor do we offer up 7 goats or think it's a geocentric universe. Caring and loving relationships are a fundamental life right & not to be dictated by one group or another over anyone. Marriage is a heart-chosen walk between 2 individuals. One day, and I hope soon, sharing love will replace fear and control over other peoples choices.

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