JEDDAH, 6 February 2006 — Civil identity cards will be made mandatory for Saudi women by the end of this Hijrah year (1427), an informed source at the Civil Service Department said.
The new decision comes after many Saudi women have shown enthusiasm for their own IDs. The department is making preparations to set up women’s offices across the country to issue the IDs.
“A woman can bring a valid passport with her or another woman with a valid ID who can verify her identity, her family ID, a letter from her employer if she is working, and two pictures,” said the source.
The ID card will include the holder’s photo and fingerprint, the source said, adding that women could submit their IDs to prove their identity at government departments, courts and banks. At present women can apply for their IDs without the consent of their male guardians. Women were granted the right to have their own picture ID four years ago in order to protect their rights, especially in courts and legal procedures. The Interior Ministry had earlier given women the choice of applying for IDs but many Saudis objected to issuing photo IDs to women.
The mandatory IDs for women come after a study by the Interior Ministry which illustrated clearly the importance of proper IDs in solving many problems facing women. Many Saudi women have recently applied for IDs with the support of their male guardians in order to take part in the initial public offerings (IPOs) of joint stock companies.
The move augurs well with a series of measures taken by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the empowerment of women. A general census conducted in 2004 put the country’s total population at 22,673,538 with the number of Saudis reaching 16,529,302. There were 8,285,662 male Saudis (50.1 percent of the Saudi population) and 8,243,640 female Saudis by Nov. 15, 2004.
