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Saudi Sheikh Saleh Bin Saad Al-Luhaydan, Private Attorney General and the Psychological Advisor of the Psychological Association in the Gulf states, advised Saudi women to prioritize mind over heart.
"Physiological science" has found that driving "automatically affects the ovaries and pushes up the pelvis," Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaydan warned women in remarks to local news website Sabq.org.
"This is why we find that children born to most women who continuously drive suffer from clinical disorders of varying degrees," he said.
Saudi Arabia imposes other restrictions on women, including a requirement to cover themselves from head to toe when in public.
Luhaydan, a member of the senior Ulema (Muslim scholars) Commission and former head of the Supreme Judicial Council, said that "evidence from the Quran and Sunna (the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed) completely prohibit (women's driving) on moral and social background."
As one of the 21 members of the Senior Council of Scholars, Sheikh Saleh al-Lohaidan can write fatwas, or religious edicts, advise the government and has a large following among other influential conservatives.
His comments have in the past played into debates in Saudi society and he has been a vocal opponent of tentative reforms to increase freedoms for women by King Abdullah, who sacked him as head of a top judiciary council in 2009.
In an interview published on Friday on the website sabq.org, he said women aiming to overturn the ban on driving should put "reason ahead of their hearts, emotions and passions".
Although the council does not set Saudi policy, which is ultimately decided by King Abdullah, it can slow government action in a country where the ruling al-Saud family derives much of its legitimacy from the clerical elite.
It is unclear whether Lohaidan's strong endorsement of the ban is shared by other members of the council, but his comments demonstrate how entrenched the opposition is to women driving among some conservative Saudis.
maria_stardust
Oh, yes, because driving is so much different from just sitting. You've got the whole steering wheel thing, not to mention the foot pedal action.
Other similar situations that may prove hazardous to a woman's health:
Sitting and reading a book.
Sitting at a table and eating a meal.
Sitting at the nail salon and getting a mani/pedi.
Sitting in front of a laptop.
Sitting and talking on the phone.
Sitting and working the remote to the TV.
The list of potential sitting and doing any sort of activity is simply staggering.
groingrinder
reply to post by littled16
Truth! I do not know if I think this guy believes the words he says or if he knows he is lying. I really miss your cat avatars.
Oh, yes, because driving is so much different from just sitting. You've got the whole steering wheel thing, not to mention the foot pedal action.
evidence from the Quran and Sunna (the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed) completely prohibit (women's driving) on moral and social background."
so, it`s still ok for women to ride in a car as passenger thought, right?
wildtimes
What sort of people are running that country?