Have heard it all now!

That is so ridiculous! What planet is he living on?!

link

Giving women the vote would result in fallen arches too.

The problem is that it won't sound ridiculous to him. It's not that long ago that men in Britain argued that women shouldn't be educated because it would affect their ability to have babies.

Sorry I always forget to convert the link... thankyou j08

That's one of the difficult things isn't it VQ, previous views of women. Women riding side saddle, at great personal risk, as riding with your legs open over the horse - well, imagine that. I saw the piece on line, and felt alternately bemused/angry/fed up etc.

Strange he has never talked about the danger to men of riding a bicycle, or do they not ride bikes in Saudi Arabia

Riding side saddle is no more dangerous than riding astride.

Back in the 70's my friend was told off by her mother in law for stepping over a 6" fence. MiL told her it was a well known fact that it would dislodge her womb! As she was a midwife she wasn't overly worried about it.

I've always heard that riding side saddle is a lot more secure because of the way you are clamped onto the saddle. According to some of the Tudor history I've been reading sidesaddle had only just come in and previously ladies rode astride.

I have ridden both side saddle and astride, both have fors and againsts.

Yes, Deedaa you are less likely to fall off, as you are sort of clamped on, but you do need to turn your upper body somewhat, which can give you a few twinges in the back!

It's medieval thinking as far as we're concerned but I'm sure he and most men and women in Saudi genuinely believe it. It will need challenge, persuasion and education to change these beliefs just as it took challenge, persuasion and education to convince people in Britain that the story of the Eve's temptation did not prove that women were morally weaker than men.

I had to check the date on this news report, I thought it was April 1st.

vampirequeen The story of Eve's temptation, along with other similar stories in other religions, has nothing to do with moral weakness and everything to do with sexual voraciousness. There are horrible clichés in all sorts of societies that compare, for example, the notorious thirst of a camel with a woman's insatiable sexual desire.

A woman with insatiable sexual desire sounds like the ultimate male fantasy but of course also gives the man the need/excuse to control the woman to ensure she only has sex with him otherwise he could end up being cuckolded.