After having won public approval for its good performance and especially its efficiency in issuing new passports, the Jeddah Passports Department seems to have slid back into the days of dismal performance. What is puzzling here is the requirement that all male applicants for new Saudi passports must produce a picture of the applicant showing the forehead in full.
Technically, this is not possible because wearing the ghutra — traditional head dress — automatically obscures part of the forehead since the ghutra covers the entire head. How then can the Passports Department expect someone wearing a ghutra to expose his forehead fully?
The only possible solution here is to slide the ghutra backward which would completely change the person’s appearance and give him a funny look. The ghutra would have lost its symbolism and the very idea behind traditional Saudi dress would have been forgotten.
Another problem relates to pictures of women applying for new passports. The rules require that women should not expose their faces but must wear a veil covering the entire face. The Passports Department, however, says any woman applying for a passport must produce a picture exposing her face — a contradiction hard to understand. In the case of male applicants, the problem can be overcome by allowing them to wear the dress of their choice.
We are the only country in the world where citizens are obliged to produce passport pictures showing the person wearing the national dress. We know that when traveling abroad the overwhelming majority of male Saudis wear Western dress — shirt, trousers and jacket. We have all seen how passport officers in foreign countries take a long time in checking and matching the passport picture with the male Saudi standing before them. The confusion arises because the pictures shows a man in traditional Saudi dress while the person standing at the counter is in Western dress.
These problems come at a time when Western countries are becoming more suspicious of travelers arriving at their airports. The requirement for exposing the entire face came in the aftermath of recent events in different parts of the world in which some Saudis were implicated.
I think giving men the freedom to wear what they like for their passport pictures would solve the problem. As for women, it may not be so easy to find a quick solution. Nonetheless, I hope the authorities will look for one that will protect women’s dignity and, at the same time, meet the security requirements.
