THE recent decision by a government department to make a wife suffer for the mistakes of her husband is an affront to the sacred institution of marriage. It is most unfortunate that people in our country choose to go backward while the rest of the world marches forward. We are still not sure if a woman can have a separate identification card which, in fact, was taken away from her only recently. She was once free to travel without a “letter of consent from her guardian who holds a certificate of support” though now even toothless grandmothers will not be allowed to travel unless the “guardian” declares to the authorities that he has no objection to her journey.
Women in the past also got telephone connections. But alas! Not now. Saudi Telecom Company (STC) treats a bona fide female Saudi citizen as if she were an expatriate — and I mean no disrespect to expatriates. If she wants to get a telephone, she must apply through a male guarantor as expatriates in the Kingdom are required to do. This humiliating condition, according to STC, is to make sure women pay their bills. It creates the impression that women are all out to cheat STC while men are all very prompt at paying theirs.
Because the Riyadh police view all women as tricksters and thieves, it issued an order stipulating that a guardian must be present when a woman sells gold or precious jewelry to ensure that she is not selling stolen goods. If a woman wants a commercial registration, she has to go through a male agent who is a Saudi. Even a Saudi woman’s husband, if he is a non-Saudi, is not eligible to act as her agent. He is not eligible to be her representative or handle her official documents or even make inquiries about her passport at government offices.
Now let us examine the order of the government department aimed at curbing the increasing traffic violations in the Kingdom. The order says that the department will not add the name of a man’s wife to his family identification card or issue him an ID card unless the department is satisfied that the man has paid all his traffic fines. According to local newspapers, by this move, the department hopes to reduce both the accumulating unpaid fines on one hand and any new violations on the other. Imagine what people outside the Kingdom will think of us when they read the order in newspapers and on the Internet.
The traffic department could have chosen several reasonable options to make defaulting men pay their fines without resorting to the unfair victimization of women. The department can refuse to renew the man’s driving license or his istimara — his car registration which must be renewed every three years. If the defaulter is a non-Saudi, the department could ask the authorities not to renew his iqama — residence permit — or refuse him an exit visa until he pays all outstanding fines. The traffic department can also adopt harsher measures aimed at citizens; they could be prevented from traveling outside the country until all fines were paid.
I cannot understand how a wife can be linked to a man’s traffic violations or his delay in paying a traffic fine. Do the authorities realize what problems such a step will cause women? Are they aware of the hardships a woman would have to endure if her name were not included in her husband’s family identification card — particularly if he died before adding her name? Now we women have dark fears over the punishment the government department will mete out to a wife if her husband commits any sort of violation after paying the fines and adding his wife’s name to family register. Will the department ask him to divorce his wife?
One also wonders how bachelors will be punished for traffic violations? I also fear that the new order will discourage youths from marrying.
Neither the government department nor the traffic department can justify this inhuman move. They claim to be closely linked but their functions are far apart. Who knows what more frightening methods of punishment the traffic department is scheming? Will it deny driving licenses to unmarried people and only grant them to an applicant if he is the father of half a dozen children?
There are civilized ways to collect the traffic department’s dues without frightening and terrorizing people. The traffic department should be fair and impartial in imposing its penalties. It should not behave in a manner which makes a citizen feel he is unjustly treated or that false violations have been recorded against him. The department should not give him the impression that violations of the rich and powerful are deleted from the records.
Each citizen has a right to be respected just as he has a duty to obey rules and regulations. Why cannot the traffic department inform violators of their violations, giving a fixed time for paying fines and an increased fine for delays? The department should publish its intention to implement such a system in the media accompanied by awareness campaigns. It should also explain the method of paying the fines if any violation has taken place.
I appeal to both the departments concerned to rescind the order with immediate effect and apologize to the women of this country before someone appears arguing that the order was only issued to protect women’s interests.
Absence of fitting rooms in clothing shops
By Safinaz Zakariya Murshid, Special to Arab News
SAUDI Arabia may be one of the best places in the world for shopping. New malls are opening in almost every neighborhood. Designers‚ haute couture and famous brands of clothing are easily found. And best of all, the prices are reasonable. They seem to suit different customers and different pockets. Yet, most shoppers complain of one problem and the same problem: the absence of fitting rooms in clothing shops.
Since the sales clerks are all male, shops are not permitted to have their own fitting rooms. Many malls and shopping centers have tried to solve the problem by building fitting rooms near the women’s bathrooms. This, however, creates inconvenience for both shoppers and sales staff.
When women want to try on clothes, they have to carry the clothes to the floor where the fitting rooms are. If they want a different size or color, they will have to go through the hassle of returning to the shop, changing what needs to be changed and then going back to the fitting room.
In Al-Mossa Shopping Center in Riyadh, bathrooms and fitting rooms are all located in the basement near the underground parking. Not many women feel safe going down there. Those who do are shocked by the horrible state of the rooms: dirty, smelly bathrooms, water on the floor and two other small narrow rooms used by women to try on clothes.
In Sahara Mall, the fitting rooms are also located inside the women’s bathrooms and they are cleaner. In Al-Nasser Mall, opened only a few months ago, only one fitting room was built. The room is spacious and clean but it is located in the family food court area. In Al-Faisalya Mall, now Riyadh’s hottest spot, the management takes good care of the fitting rooms. The rooms are located on the third floor in a separate area near the women’s bathrooms. Still, in a mall that expects hundreds of shoppers everyday, four fitting rooms are never enough to accommodate the numbers. The rooms are often so crowded that women have to stand in queues waiting for their turn. Some women choose to go to the women’s prayer room, close the door and try the clothes on.
Whatever the situation, fitting rooms are a convenient solution for women who can’t make up their minds about an item of clothing without trying it on. At the same time, this has certainly caused difficulties for shop clerks.
Before these rooms were available, customers used to buy the item and try it on at home. If the item did not fit, most shops allowed exchanges within a certain fixed time limit. Other shops would even give a cash refund. But now, some shoppers insist on depositing some money and taking the clothes, claiming to be going to the fitting room. And then they are never seen again. A clerk in one shop recalls an incident that cost him a big deduction in his salary. “A woman once came looking for a night gown. She asked if she could try it on before buying it. I reluctantly asked her to deposit some money but she refused. Instead she offered to give me her ATM card. I waited for her but she never came back. Apparently, the card did not even belong to her. The owner of the shop deducted the price of the garment from my salary.”
A clerk in another shop recalled an incident in which a woman paid the full price of a skirt she wanted. She asked, however, for a bigger size to see which one fit better. Neither was returned.
One salesclerk at “Zara” said that their stores require full payment for clothes taken out of the shop even if for trial. “Our policy allows the customer 30 days in which to exchange garments. Cash refunds are also given but within four days only.”
What most women in the Kingdom hope for is that shops will build their own fitting rooms on their own premises. Or at least build them in more than one area in the malls. What is left is only approval from the authorities.