MADINAH, 1 April 2006 — Women customers of local banks in Madinah are angry at having their accounts frozen for not complying with the requirement to produce a personal photo identification card. These women have encountered difficulty in obtaining their monthly salaries.
Some women have had to wait longer for their pay as they wished to be issued checks — rather than having their salaries directly deposited into frozen accounts — so they could cash them at other banks.
Banks have threatened to freeze more accounts next month and not to conduct any bank operation until customers show a photo ID, according to Al-Madinah newspaper.
“My salary was deposited to my account as usual by the end of the month,” said Um Eman, a bank customer.
“When I went to withdraw my money, I found that my account was frozen. When I visited the women’s branch to inquire about my account, I was surprised to see many women like me there. We are forced now to obtain a personal ID in order to unfreeze the account. We reached a deal with the bank to release our money this month as there were no advance warnings, but as of next month the account will remain frozen until we produce a photo ID. I thought that the personal ID card was optional and we are not obliged to have it.”
This policy has created a bigger problem for many women who would have to ask for their husband’s permission to obtain their own photo identification cards. Many men object to their wives obtaining IDs because it involves a photograph exposing their faces. The IDs also qualify women independently to obtain services and complete procedures that require proper identification. And many women do not apply for personal ID cards because they believe that the family card is more than enough.
Um Fares, another customer, said that women are not against having a personal ID card but they are against the way it was done.
“Whenever there is a change in the rule, they should announce it in the media so we could take proper measures,” she said, adding that banks should not dictate to women and force them to obtain IDs. “Since when have banks joined the campaign for women IDs? They have no right to twist women’s arms on the issue.”
The manager of the civil department branch in Madinah, Saad Al-Oufi, said that personal ID cards are optional for women and the doors of the department are open to all those that want it.
