Saudi Arabia: Driving a 'threat to virgin brides'

If Saudi women are allowed to drive, it will lead to them having premarital sex, a report to a high-level advisory group claims, according to a rights activist.

The ultra-conservative stance suggests increasing pressure on King Abdullah to retain the kingdom's male-only driving rules. Waleed Abu Alkhair said the report, by Kamal Subhi, an academic, was sent to the Shura Council, which advises the monarchy. It claims that letting women drive threatens the Saudi tradition of virgin brides.

Saudi women have staged several protests defying the driving ban, while the king has promised some reform, including letting women vote in municipal elections in 2015.