(IMAGE SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons)


BY CHRISTIAN BRYANT

In a new report, a group of conservative Muslim scholars say Saudi women being allowed to drive would spell the end of virginity. A reporter for ThinkProgress.org writes,

“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 [Islamic] kingdom.”

Although there is no official law in Saudi Arabia saying women cannot drive, a ban prohibits them from doing so. The Global Post notes that this study might have been hatched as an attempt to put pressure on Saudi ruler King Abdullah to keep from rescinding the ban.

“...The report was drafted in an attempt by the Saudi religious elite to deter the king from reviewing the driving ban, which he has alluded may happen as part of his reforms process.”

King Abdullah has pushed for some women’s rights reform, but still defers to traditional religious clerics. Over the summer, a woman named Manal al-Sharif posted this video of herself driving in Saudi Arabia. Sharif was arrested over the video, leading to an uprising of women protesting the driving ban. Another woman who drove was sentenced to 10 lashes, but King Abdullah overturned the decision.

This new report was presented to Saudi Arabian legislators. One researcher claims that there has been a “moral decline” in countries where women drive. The Telegraph spoke with him:

“[One Professor] 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... This is what happens when women are allowed to drive.’”

As you can imagine, the “scientific” study has its critics. A writer for HotAir.com mocks the research.

“Well, we certainly can’t afford a massive sell-off in the virgin market. Not to mention the dangers of having gays running around wild, selling pornographic magazines to these female drivers when they pull up to a stop light. Divorced hookers! Dogs and cats living together!”

Saudi women have continued to stage protests by getting behind the wheel and posting video of it online.