The Civil Status Directorate reported there are more women issuing their national ID than men. Civil Status Directorate spokesman Mohammad Al-Jasser said the total number of young women reaching 15 years old and are ready for a national ID has reached 3 million. "The average number of national IDs of women issued in a week across all Civil Status offices has gone from 70,000 to 104,000 national IDs. More and more public directorates are requiring the national ID before completing the bureaucratic process," said Al-Jasser. He added passports are not issued without the national ID, university registration is not completed without the national ID, telecommunication company services require a national ID, courts require a national ID and other services also require a national ID. "There are only 43 Civil Status offices for women in all areas of the Kingdom while there are 105 Civil Status offices for men. The number of staff members working for Civil Status offices for women is significantly less than the number of staff members working for Civil Status offices for men," said Al-Jasser. He added the Civil Status Directorate has received numerous complaints from women who said they couldn't find an appointment at the Civil Status offices. "We received complaints that the next available appointments are months away and that would be too late for the women who are trying to apply for jobs, get into university or complete any other process. The Civil Status Directorate aims to open more offices to be able to book more appointments," said Al-Jasser. He added some Civil Status offices would be operating during the weekend and in the evening to allow for more appointments to be booked. "The Civil Status Directorate will also organize for a mobile office that will tour some governorates in order to provide women who cannot easily reach a Civil Status office with the service. There are currently two mobile offices in Al-Leeth Governorate and in Yanbu Governorate," said Al-Jasser.
