Saudi Arabia's advisory body, Shura Consultative Council has reportedly dismissed the filing by three of its female members to raise the issue of ban on women driving in the kingdom and has called it 'irrelevant' to be discussed.
The Council, consisting 30 women among its 150 members, rejected the filing and said that it was not within the transport ministry's remit.
According to the Gulf News, the three members of the council had filed a recommendation that the ban on women driving be scrapped and recognize the right of women to drive a car in accordance with the principles of Sharia (Islamic law) and traffic rules.
An online petition has also been signed in March by more than thousand of Saudis, urging the council to discuss the issue and launch a debate on the ban.
Female activists have also planned a protest drive against the ban scheduled for October 26.
Recently, a Saudi cleric became a subject of criticism when he claimed that women who drive tend to risk their reproductive health as driving hurts their ovaries.