By Kevin Harrison
So we all know that Saudi Arabia isn’t exactly the land of opportunity for women, but the latest rhetoric against women is just laughably stupid.
First things first, if you didn’t already know, it’s illegal for women to drive or obtain a driver’s licence in Saudi Arabia. The reason why can be chalked up to backwards thinking, and deeply repressive sexism. However now a Saudi cleric has blatantly made up a new reason to prevent women from driving amidst a growing movement of women who want their driving ban overturned.
Conservative cleric Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan, recently made comments suggesting women could do some serious damage to their ovaries if they got behind the wheel of a car.
“If a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts as functional and physiological medical studies show that it automatically affects the ovaries and pushes the pelvis upward,” Lohaiden supposedly commented.
He continued to say the women campaigning to be allowed to drive should put “reason ahead of their hearts, emotions and passions” aka not drive.
I’m not sure what studies he’s referring to but I’m pretty sure Danica Patrick, Shirley Muldowney, Lyn St. James and countless other famous female race car drivers proves not only that women can drive and do it well, but that it does not have a direct affect on their ovaries. Even ‘regular’ female drivers like your mother or daughter are doing just fine.
And let’s just step back and use some common sense. If driving a car supposedly affects the ovaries of women then what the hell does it do to a man’s testicles? Shouldn’t us men be more at risk by that logic? And by the same logic, wouldn’t just sitting in a chair supposedly have the same effect since that would also “push the pelvis upward”? Is he suggesting women should no longer be allowed to sit because it could affect their health? Foolishness.
Okay, rant post = over.
