A group of academics from a Saudi Arabian religious council warned that, should women in the repressive monarchy be allowed to legally drive cars, the country would see a rapid “moral decline.”
The religious scholars are from Saudi Arabia’s top institution of religious study and worked with a university professor to draft a report on the potential impact of women drivers. The group said women drivers would lead to a “surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce,” and complained that, after ten years of women driving, there would be “no more virgins” in the kingdom. The report was prepared for and delivered to Saudia Arabia’s unelected advisory Shura Council, which holds no power in the country’s absolute monarchy.
Global Post highlighted an anecdote from the report that dealt with the personal experience of one its authors:
In the report Prof 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.”
This summer, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised a civil disobedience protest movement of women drivers and a group of U.S. Senators asked the king to overturn the ban. This fall, one of the demonstrators was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving, though the sentence was overturned by the King under pressure.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women drivers, leaving one wondering why there have not been more news reports on how it’s the only country left with virgins. (HT: Sarah Wildman)