JEDDAH, 11 December — The Kingdom has started issuing identity cards to women for the first time to make their lives easier and to help prevent fraud, Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday.
He clarified that the issuance of identity cards to women will in no way violate Saudi women’s dignity, or contradict Islamic teachings.
“Women are issued IDs only to prove their identity so they can protect their rights,” Prince Naif said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.
“The issuing of identity cards to women is dictated by the requirements of modern life. They enable women to undertake all her activities with ease and also to prevent forgery and trickery committed in the name of women in the absence of identification,” Prince Naif said.
The absence of such ID cards has been the cause of many inconveniences, the prince added.
Saudi women are currently listed as dependents on the card of their father or husband.
They are issued with passports but are not allowed to travel unless accompanied by a male legal guardian or with written permission from a male relative.
The ID card will be the basis of an individual’s personal identification in situations where a person’s presence is required.
Prince Naif said the cards would stop people using false identities when banking, checking into hotels, paying for medical treatment, sitting university exams or establishing rights of inheritance.
The authorities started issuing the cards at the beginning of December.
