Saudi cleric banned for saying women's brains 'a quarter the size' of men's
Nisaa FM:- Women only have half a brain to begin with, but when they go out shopping they "end up with only a quarter" claimed Sheikh Saad Al-Hijri in a lecture on "the evils of women driving".
Saad al-Hijri, head of fatwa’s 'legal opinions’ in Saudi Arabia’s Assir governorate, was suspended from all religious activity after advising against allowing women to drive. His speech contained comments “diminishing human value”, a spokesman for the governor of Assir province said.
Women in Saudi Arabia remain banned from driving, despite ambitious government targets to increase their public role, especially in the workforce.
The conservative Saudi kingdom is known for having some of the world’s tightest restrictions for women. Women is by law forced to wear long robs and headscarves in all public spaces, and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions.
Cleric Saad Al Hijri states that Saudi women should not be granted a drivers license because women only have a quarter of a brain. In a video Hijri asked, what the traffic department would do it if it discovered a man with only half a brain. “Would it give him a license or not? It would not. So how can it give it to a woman when she has only half?” he said.“If she goes to the market she loses another half. What is left? A quarter ... We demand the traffic department check because she is not suitable to drive and she has only a quarter.” The comments sparked outrage on social media, which is hugely popular in the kingdom.
The users shared the video, many criticizing it and making jokes about his remarks. Some users posted pictures of Saudi female scientists and academics in response and questioned Hijri’s own intellectual capacities.
The suspension on Hijri was ordered by the provincial governor, the suspension was imposed to prevent the spread of views that spark controversy and do not serve the national interest, the provincial spokesman said.
Source: The guardian BBC news