According to Saudi doctor Lamya Ibrahim, men and women shouldn't be treated equally.
In a statement she made during a television appearance on Rotana Khalijiya's Ya Hala on Sunday, Ibrahim said:
"What are the rights given to men that they want women to get? Do they want us to allow women to move out of their family homes to live alone or with friends?! I personally think that's unacceptable."
"It's something I wouldn't accept for my own daughter or anyone else. Because a woman's mistake is different than that of a man. Whether we like it or not, a woman's mistake affects her entire family," she added.
Soon after it aired on live television, the doctor's statement started making the rounds on social media and sparked a heated debate among tweeps.
"What are the rights given to men that they want women to get?"
Ibrahim's statements divided people on Twitter
Some were all for them...
"We raise our hats to her and everyone like her. A Saudi woman is always aware of the value and status her religion gives her."
And thought Ibrahim's points were valid
"Great points, not like those made by people who discuss this issue and call for gender equality even though it can never work, not even in their own families or homes."
However, others were having none of it
"A woman's mistake shames her entire family, but a man's mistake only affects him. Her rhetoric is just disgusting."
"If God didn't differentiate between men and women, who are you to do that?"
"Why is she out of her house then? Or is she different than the women she talks about! If God's punishment is the same for both men and women, if God didn't differentiate between men and women, who are you to do that? If a woman's mistake shames her family, then a man's mistake will also shame them."
Many were outraged by Ibrahim's statements
"What's frustrating me is that she's a doctor and this is her rhetoric."
"You don't deserve to be called a doctor when this is the way you think"
"Women programmed by the patriarchy are a problem"
"They are women who want to please the patriarchy while ignoring our basic civil rights. She says that inside Saudi Arabia, we can move freely, travel, meet and live with our friends. But the problem is that government departments treat us as underage human beings for life and don't provide us services as adult citizens. This woman doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Tell her to join us in 2018"
Ibrahim's comments come during a triumphant year for Saudi women
The doctor's comments come at a time during which the kingdom is making >unprecedented improvements when it comes to women's rights.
Apart from dropping a long-standing ban on> women driving in September 2017, the kingdom recently opened >municipal elections to female candidates and made women's >verbal consent to marriage mandatory.
In recent months, the kingdom also took major steps to improve women's rights in the country. These include issuing reformed laws governing child marriage, divorce, alimony, and the custody of children.
In addition to that, a royal decree issued by King Salman in May 2017 signaled that the kingdom's male guardianship system, which has always been seen as a hindrance to women's progress, >might be coming to an end soon.