The idea of a national ID card sends many libertarians up the wall, calling to mind remembrances of the WWII-era fascist states that were always asking, ’show me your papers!’ But in the case of Saudi Arabia, and particularly for Saudi women, an ID card makes more than sense; it’s critical to protecting women and their property. Too often, men have ‘identified’ women fraudulently and stripped their sisters of their wealth.

As the government has been trashing about trying to reconcile the need for positive ID and the social resistance toward showing a woman’s face, new, computer-chipped cards are being introduced. As this Saudi Gazette piece notes, the card would contain a digitized photo of the woman which would be machine-readable, but not visible to most passers-by. The piece also notes that the card could replace a multitude of other cards, including—sometime down the road—drivers license information.

New ID cards soon for Saudi women

RIYADH – Nasser Al-Hanaya, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Civil Status said new national ID-cards will be issued soon to Saudi women.

The cards, similar to those issued to men, will replace passports for travel within the GCC, Al-Hanaya told Al-Madina Arabic daily.

The new card will also replace the civil status card currently in use.

The card has a smart-chip and an optical strip to ensure identity scrutiny and prevent fraudulent use.

The holder’s picture, name and civil register number is embedded into the card’s optic strip.
Al-Hanaya said the card’s smart-chip can also do away with the need to carry multiple cards such as driving license and car insurance, which have not been incorporated as yet.