The little-known side effect of women driving

Ladies, did you drive to the supermarket today? Or drop the kids off at school?

Well, you might want to have a serious think about that decision, because a conservative Saudi Arabian cleric has revealed some very important (and, you know, totally medically sound) information regarding the side-effects of women slipping behind the wheel.

In an interview last week, published on the website sabq.org, Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan claimed driving can damage a woman's ovaries and cause her to bear children with clinical problems.

Sheikh al-Lohaidan, a judicial adviser to an association of Gulf psychologists, told the website:

"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 upwards."

Ah. Here we were thinking the ovaries were located on the inside of the body, far from the brake pedal. Unless... have we been driving incorrectly this whole time?

Sheikh al-Louhaidan continued: "That is why we find those who regularly drive have children with clinical problems of varying degrees."

Yes, you read correctly - you're putting your ovaries, and the lives of your unborn children, in peril by cruising around in the family van.  However, sitting passively in the passenger seat while your husband/boyfriend/male companion does all the hard clutch work seems to be a-okay, so you're not confined to the house just yet.

It might also interest you know to know Sheik al-Lohaidan didn't cite any medical research to support his claims. Nor did he speculate on the potential effects driving has on the male reproductive system. Jezebel's Doug Barry did, though:

My testicles fall asleep when I go on long drives — can Saleh al-Lohaidan’s brand of car science explain that, too? Because I’m sure losing blood circulation in that area isn’t great, but whatever, it’s not like I’m a car scientist specialising in effect of sitting down has on one’s junk.

The cleric's comments emerged amid the latest campaign encouraging women to defy Saudi Arabia's male-only driving rules. While there is no specific legislation within the kingdom prohibiting women from driving, licenses are only available to men. Previous arguments in support of the ban include the claim by a Saudi religious council that allowing women to drive would "provoke a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce". Why stop there? Let's add poverty, starvation and chemical warfare to the list too.

The latest protest drive for women has been planned for October 26, and while the campaign has gained traction online its website has been blocked within the kingdom. In his interview, Sheikh al-Lohaidan said the women aiming to overturn the ban should put "reason ahead of their hearts, emotions and passions." And their need to independently get from A to B.

Now, we've heard some wildly inaccurate declarations by men regarding women's anatomy in our time. Remember last year when then-US Senate candidate Todd Akin explained that women who are "legitimately raped" rarely fall pregnant because the female body can "shut that whole thing down"? Yeah, that.

However, we think the link between driving and ovary damage may be the most ridiculous claim yet. Although it does make us wonder what other basic daily activities could potentially damage a woman's child-bearing abilities. How about cooking? Or strenuous housework? School pick-up? Oh dear - perhaps we'd best leave that completely to the menfolk, too.

PHOTO CREDIT: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/GETTY