Saudi Cleric Says Women Who Drive will have Clinical Problem

TEMPO.CO, Riyad - A conservative Saudi Arabian cleric stated that women who drive have risks of damaging their ovaries and may bear children with clinical problem.The statement was made to counter activists who are trying to end the Islamic kingdom's male-only driving rules.

Campaigns calling women to defy the driving ban has spread rapidly through online media over the past week, and has gained support from several prominent women activists. However, the campaign's website was blocked by the Saudi government on Sunday, September 29.

In an interview published at sabq.org on Friday, September 28, Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan said that "women aiming to overturn the ban on driving should put reason ahead of their hearts, emotions and passions."

He later explained that "if a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts."

"That is why we find those who regularly drive have children with clinical problems of varying degrees," he added.

The driving ban for women can also seen through the fact that only men are granted driving licenses. Women can be fined, detained, or put on trial for driving without a license.

REUTERS | CHOIRUL