Allowing Women To Drive Would Mean No More Virgins, Saudi Arabia Religious Council Says

Huffington Post UK   First Posted: 02/12/2011 17:01 Updated: 02/10/2012 19:01

Allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia would mean no more virgins and an increase in homosexuality, according to academics at Saudi Arabia’s highest religious council, Majlis al-Ifta' al-A'ala, it has been reported in the Telegraph.

More pornography would be used if women were allowed on the roads and rates of prostitution and divorce would alo rise, the report stated.

Produced in conjunction with Kamal Subhi, a former professor at the King Fahd University, the study into repealing the ban predicted that there would be no more virgins left in the Arab kingdom in 10 years.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which bans women from driving.

Professor Subhi described sitting in a coffee shop in an unnamed Arab state where “all the women were looking at me“.

“One made a gesture that made it clear that she was available,” he said. “This is what happens when women are allowed to drive.”

The report was produced for the country's legislative assembly, the Shura Council. However this institution has no power as Saudi Arabia is ruled by a monarchy with absolute power.

The state’s controversial ban on female drivers last came under attack in September after Shaima Jastaniya was sentenced to 10 lashes just days after Saudi King Abdullah granted women the right to vote. The punishment was overturned after international and domestic pressure.

Saudi Arabia is currently considering a law for women to cover up their eyes if they are deemed too "tempting."

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FreeMan10B
I advocate for children's religious freedom
10:00 AM on 10/22/2012
How did Saudi men come to hate and fear their women so badly. This has to be the most perplexing society on earth. Is it just the clerics that are so warped?
11:14 PM on 10/18/2012
Even if women are allowed freer movement and driving, their primary attraction should still be toward men usually, especially if the men act respectfully and kind toward the women, attitudes on which the 'new' men might need some adjustments to be less domineering.
Freeing women from unnecessary constraints should not increase homosexuality. It seems that present gender segregation should create higher pressure for homosexuality in men and women, for lack of opportunity for mixing.
11:58 AM on 10/11/2012
I have to wonder what "sign" this woman made. Odds are it was something like raising her eyebrows at the weird man staring at her, or possibly trying not to sneeze.

Also.... it is a physical impossibility for a country to be completely depleted of virgins. Even if every woman in the country becomes a raging nymphomaniac by being let out of her house (and somehow every man becomes gay? Not sure how that will work), presumably they will be having a bumper crop of babies. Unless this cleric is saying that the rape of infants and children is endemic to his country, I have no idea how they can ever be out of virgins, since virgins are a constantly renewing supply.
06:44 PM on 10/05/2012
As a Muslim and Arab. I should loudly say what Religious Saudi government is doing has completely nothing to do with Islam and Islamic obligations! who had read profoundly about Islam would get to know that Women are equated with men in all terms.
11:51 PM on 10/05/2012
In Sharia court, is a woman's word taken to be equal to a man's?
11:06 PM on 10/07/2012
yes, women in addition, are allowed to take all positions, there is more than one interpretation though concerning the controversial issue of women are allowed or not to rule a country ..the whole flaw is in Muslims themselves unfortunately.
01:17 PM on 10/11/2012
As I am a resident in Saudi Arabia for 11 years, the women driving issue is far from Sharia at all. Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country with wealthy citizens and even most of residents. Everybody can afford buying a car specially the car and fuel prices are low compared to other countries. Allowing women to drive could cause a rapid increase of the number of vehicles specially in cities in country that totally depends on the personal transportation means and very minimum public transportation means. The travelling period from one place to another could take twice times than the current which is still high. Saudi government is studying the impacts of such decision this way. People were trying to put it on the shoulder of sharia are trying to spoil the image of Islam.
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04:00 PM on 10/05/2012
I don't understand how men in the culture aren't deeply offended by this treatment of women. I'm referring mostly to the last line of the article - "Saudi Arabia is currently considering a law for women to cover up their eyes if they are deemed too 'tempting.'"
Do men not see that this lack of control assumes that their natural state is "rapist"? That they have absolutely no control over their own actions, so women must do it for them?
I find this no less than heartbreaking.
06:26 AM on 10/05/2012
In another study it turned out that driving can also cause severe stupidity
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DopamineProject
11:14 PM on 10/04/2012
If only the followers of the different religions, who easily understand how irrational, absurd, and ridiculous the members of competing religions are, were able to extend their understanding to their own religions.
11:06 PM on 10/04/2012
This is awful - it's almost implying that Saudi men have no control over themselves at all :/
12:36 AM on 10/07/2012
Almost? Completely useless I would say. Tempting eyes??? What next.... No breathing because gosh, we all know how tempting a breathing woman is........ I find these rules and restrictions hideously offensive, as does my husband. Time for the men to show some restraint and discipline over themselves.
08:34 PM on 10/04/2012
Oh thank you for the laugh! But I suspect this is real and is taken quite seriously in that bastion of modernity, SA.

It's so cartoon-like that I couldn't help chuckling.
08:12 PM on 10/04/2012
Wow. They have Islamic Republicanism in Saudi Arabia.
07:54 PM on 10/04/2012
Humanity is what we need to practice
07:47 PM on 10/04/2012
To a lesser degree, this is the same sentiment in our own culture that tells women to dress a certain way to ward off rapists or to not go places at night lest the be attacked. Perhaps we should be telling and expecting men to - you know - not attack women despite their outfit or time of day.
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07:45 PM on 10/04/2012
The thing is, they're sort of right...they're just wrong in thinking that's a problem. Ain't nothing that great about virgins. For one thing, they're terrible lays :D
07:43 PM on 10/04/2012
Maybe men should be forbidden from driving instead; by their logic it would still have the same result.
07:43 PM on 10/04/2012
The problem is and always has been Saudi Arabia. Almost all of the terrorists that struck us on 9/11 and at other times have been Saudi. Muslim, yes, but Saudi! We chose to believe it was Muslim and indicted Muslims around the world rather than criticize GWB's friend, the Saudi Arabian Monarchy and religious! Not one bit different that Iran except it is a Monarchy. Fewer rights for all of it's citizens than Iran, Iraq... There can never be an Arab spring there! Bloodbath is the only description of what would happen if the people stood up for themselves. It's about the oil and keeping peace for Israel.
02:22 PM on 10/05/2012
Bravo tjh1959 . summed it up nicely .