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DAMMAM: A proposal to amend travel regulations for women will be studied by the Shoura Council security committee.
Shoura member Latifa Al-Shalaan has confirmed that the proposal she submitted with four of her colleagues -- Haya Al-Manea, Ata Al-Subaiti, Hamda Al-Anzi and Mohammed Al-Khaneezi -- in May will be studied.
The proposal seeks to grant women the right to obtain national IDs including passports without the prior approval of male guardians,.
Al-Shalaan said the proposal aims to empower women and boost her status in society as an active member with equal rights, adding that adoption of the proposal would spare the Saudi women a lot of financial and physical burdens they go face in the issuance of national IDs.
The proposal reiterates that obliging a woman to obtain a male guardian's approval for getting a passport runs counter to the Saudi laws, which give complete civil rights to citizens upon reaching the age of 18, regardless of gender.
Al-Shalaan said the goal is for the Saudi passport to serve as a national travel document, and that all citizens -- men and women alike -- should be able to obtain one when needed.
She also said laws regulating travel contain no stipulation about the need for a male guardian to give his approval for a woman to travel outside the Kingdom, a fact that remains unknown to many.
"Theoretically, from a formal or legal perspective, women are not required to obtain the permission of their guardian for travel, but the ban is based on rather "mysterious and vague text" in Article 28 of the regulations, which states that "travel of Saudi women outside the Kingdom is subject to instructions in force".
These "instructions" as indicated on the website of the General Directorate of Passports, include that women and children must obtain permission to travel from their guardian.
Al-Shalaan said the instructions followed now are merely guidance regulations subject to interpretation, and they can be easily and quickly amended and adopted by ministries without referring them to other authorities, like the Shoura Council of the Council of Ministers.
"The Shoura Council is responsible for amending regulations and laws, not for implementing guidance regulations," she said, adding that this is why she and her colleagues submitted the proposal to amend the laws regarding women's right to obtain a passport.
© Arab News 2016
