Cosmetic surgery is on the rise among Saudi women, according to MSNBC. Liposuction, breast augmentation, and nose jobs are among the most popular procedures performed. Muslim clerics have been asked to determine whether or not cosmetic surgery is permissible in Islam, as it is considered sinful to tamper with God’s creation. Several years ago, a number of clerics and plastic surgeons examined this question when it first became relevant, and reached the consensus that under certain circumstances, certain procedures may be sanctioned, such as procedures to augment “unusually small”[1] breasts, to change features that cause a person grief or suffering, or to correct the damage done by an accident. The clerics ruled that other procedures cannot be sanctioned in Islam, such as unsafe procedures or changing one’s features to resemble those of a celebrity. Certainly, not all customers or surgeons adhere to these guidelines.

While Western journalists expressed surprise that women who veil themselves in public and in the company of unrelated men would go to the expense of cosmetic surgery, the women interviewed cited numerous reasons for its appeal. Primary among them was that cosmetic surgery is not only for the benefit of men; it is common for women to attend all-female gatherings and parties, unveiled, where they hope to impress one another. Women also cited pleasing their husbands and trips abroad on which they might choose not wear a burqa as other reasons for cosmetic surgery. One Saudi plastic surgeon also suggested that the beautiful, scantily-clad Arab singers and actresses who are broadcast throughout the Arab world play a significant role in the type of surgeries women have performed, inspiring them to change their facial structures or bodies to resemble those of celebrities. The trend of increasing plastic surgeries among Saudi women has been criticized by Saudi columnist Aboo Khal, in his piece entitled “We Don’t Want You to be Cinderella,” in which he wrote that cosmetic surgery plays on women’s insecurity and promotes the view of women as “for bed only.”[2]

For more information, see:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32205966/ns/health-skin_and_beauty/from/ET