NEW DELHI: An unnamed Islamic cleric based in Europe has issued a ban on women touching fruits and vegetables resembling the male sexual organ to avoid "sexual thoughts".

The Egyptian news website Bikya Masr on Wednesday quoted the cleric whose diktat featured in an article on el-Senousa, a religious publication. The cleric has said that women should not even get close to bananas or cucumbers. "If women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve," the cleric dictated.

According to the cleric, bananas and cucumbers "resemble the male penis" and therefore could arouse women or "make them think of sex." The cleric also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

The news about this latest diktat against women went viral on the web with liberal Muslims feeling enraged and embarrassed. Repression of women in ultra-conservative Islamic societies has been an intense subject of debate throughout the world.

