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Saudi cleric suspended for calling women ‘quarter brained’

Saad al-Hijri. Photo: Youtube

Riyadh: A Saudi cleric who said women should not be allowed to drive because they have a “quarter” of the brainpower of men has been banned from preaching, leading prayers and other religious activities.

Saad al-Hijri was suspended from all religious activity in the southern province of Asir after his comment was widely criticised on social media, a report in PTI said.

Hijri said women, who normally are “half-brained” compared to men, “end up with only a quarter” when they go shopping and therefore must be denied driving licences, according to an online video identifying him as a senior religious figure, the PTI report said.

Saudi Arabia applies a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam, which imposes a range of restrictions including a ban on women driving.

Unrelated men and women are normally segregated in Saudi Arabia, where offices and restaurants have separate sections for single men and families.

The ban on the cleric is intended to “limit the exploitation of preaching platforms to suggest opinions and views that cause controversy in society and detract from the value of human beings,” according to a spokesperson for Assir province, the BBC reported.

Hijri’s comment sparked a storm on social media, with women’s rights activists calling for his suspension, but he also had pockets of support from conservative followers, PTI wrote in its report.

Hijri later said that his comment was a “slip of the tongue”, according to Sabq, an online newspaper.

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