A group of elderly ladies held a gathering at Al-Sahab Palace here to encourage married women to obtain personal Identity Cards, Al-Watan newspaper reported Wednesday. “Women need the card now more than ever before given the amount and variety of procedures they have to go through,” said Lolwah Al-Shareef, head of the women's section at Taif's Civil Affairs Department. “It does not mean separating from or doing away with the need for a husband, it's about identity verification only.” He said that women needed the card when dealing with banks and government bodies, and social security issues. “It is especially important for divorcees and widows,” she said. According to Al-Watan the card is issued for persons of 18 years of age and above, and female applicants must provide in person the Civil Affairs Department with legal proof of their social status in the form of a Family Identity Card or a copy of it. A guardian for the woman is required to introduce her if a passport or female relative with a personal identification card cannot be produced.
