A family of five daughters and two sons born in Madinah suffer social and health problems because they are not in possession of IDs.

Their father didn’t register them in the Civil Status Register at birth. His eldest daughter is 34 years old. The family’s problems were made worse when the Ministry of Justice refused to look into cases connected with the family because they don’t have civil registration numbers. The father refused to divorce the mother and register his children for more than two decades, according to their mother.

Salma, the second eldest daughter, said, “My family and I are living a tragedy because problems between my parents prevented our registration in the Civil Status Register and deprived us of some of our basic rights, such as education and health care.

“We haven’t gone to school and are denied entry into hospitals even though we have two sisters with chronic diseases. One has kidney failure. We had many donors but she was denied entry to hospital because she doesn’t have a civil registration number. The other one is bed-ridden and has not been diagnosed,” she added. “There are only women in the house; my eldest brother is in prison and the other can’t read or write,” Salma said. She said the family lives harsh social circumstances and that a philanthropist pays their rent.

Mohammad bin Mustafa Saif, secretary-general of the Madinah Governorate, called on the Hatem Barri, the Ministry of Social Affairs branch director in Madinah to draft a comprehensive report on their problems.

Barri directed the protection director to communicate with the family. Barri said he will communicate with the provinces’ governorate to verify the details of their story.

He said such cases should be reported to the Social Protection Unit by calling 1919. He said there is a committee comprised of specialized authorities to solve such problems.

Civil Defense Director Abdulmuti Al-Jahni has sent a fax with the family’s name and has promised a response from the ministry’s spokesman by next Sunday.