SHAROURA/JIZAN: A Saudi national in Sharoura, southeast of Saudi Arabia, was astonished to learn that his 15-year-old daughter was removed from his family identification card because the Civil Status Department's computer system shows she is married and has two children. In fact, the intermediate-school pupil who lives in her father's household is not married. The girl's father, an employee in a government department, said he discovered this by coincidence two months ago when he sought information about his family identification card. He found that the girl's name was added as a wife to the family card of a man in Samtah in the Jizan region. “The alleged husband not only added her in his documents, but also had birth certificates of two children issued with their mother being my daughter,” he said. “According to the information the department have, my daughter allegedly gave birth to the kids two years before she allegedly got married, which indicates forgery and manipulation of official documents.” The father must file a complaint with authorities to open a case and find out who is responsible, said Ali Al-Najmi, Director of Civil Status in Samtah. The addition of the girl to the man's official record in Samtah must have happened based on a transaction at the department, he added. The girl's father demanded the annulment of the marriage and the return of his daughter to his family card as “Daughter,” not “Divorced Daughter.” He wondered how this could have happened and who is involved in the matter – the writer of the marriage contract; witnesses; the Jizan Civil Status Department, which added the girl to the alleged husband's documents; and those who had the birth certificates issued.
