Over 3 million Saudi women without IDs

Jeddah : More than 3 million Saudi women, aged 15 and above, do not have national IDs.

The number of applications from women for IDs has jumped from 70,000 to 104,000 in just seven days, said Mohammed Al-Jasser, Civil Affairs spokesman.

Many citizens have complained about the difficulty in getting appointments at the Civil Affairs offices, especially in the Eastern Province.

This has forced the applicants to wait several months for IDs and as a result, they have missed employment opportunities because IDs are mandatory for Saudis seeking jobs.

To deal with it, Al-Jasser said the Civil Affairs prepared a plan to receive a large number of applicants and reduce crowding by opening more offices for women in all regions. 

The plan also includes increasing the capacity of employees to process applications at some offices during weekends and evening hours in order to serve as many women as possible.

Several bodies and agencies, such as the General Directorate of Passports, colleges, telecom service providers, courts, and the National Center for Assessment, made the national ID mandatory for completing employment procedures. This resulted in overcrowding in the Civil Affairs offices all over the Kingdom.