Saudi groom flees wedding after bride's dad demands she drives

A Saudi groom walked out of his own 'melka' (wedding ceremony) after the bride's father demanded that his daughter should be allowed to drive after the marriage, Al Marsd reported on Sunday. 

According to the news site, the groom was surprised when the bride's father set the conditions, demanding that his daughter gets a car and a driving license when the Kingdom's lift on the women driving ban goes into effect in June 2018.

The request was made minutes before the religious ceremony was set to begin. It was immediately rejected by the groom who walked out of the ceremony, even after relatives tried to negotiate things further.

Before the lift on the ban, the bride's father had requested a dowry of 40,000 riyals ($10,666) and that his daughter continues to work after marriage. 

The groom had agreed to both requests.

Soon after news of the incident began circulating online, hundreds of tweeps reacted to it. 

While most were shocked by the groom's reaction, others understood his decision.

"It's his right, and if this is what women want these days, spinsterhood is going to be on the rise." 

"It's her right to set conditions, and his right to reject them. The foundation of a happy, successful marriage is built right in those first moments." 

"Good riddance, it's better for her." 

"How is it possible for someone to just cancel their own wedding over this?" 

Last month, Saudi Arabia finally lifted a long-standing and widely-criticised ban on women driving.

The ban officially existed since 1990, and although there was no official prohibition in place, females were simply not issued driving licenses.

The lift on the ban is set to take full effect in June of 2018.

The decision was celebrated and welcomed by millions of Saudi women. 

People also celebrated online, and while the majority of Saudi tweeps hailed the ban lift, there were others who created sexist hashtags attacking it.