Saudi Arabia: Covering hair still mandatory in ID photos
Some age groups exempted from the obligatory covering
Cairo: Saudi authorities have denied reports that covering women’s hair and necks in ID photos is no longer mandatory per se the latest amendments to the kingdom’s civil affair system.
The amendments were published in Saudi Arabia’s official gazette, Umm Al Qura, prompting reports in some media and blogs that Saudi women no longer have to cover their hair and necks in the national ID photo.
However, the Interior Ministry’s Civil Status Service confirmed in an ensuing explanatory statement that the covering is still mandatory.
The approved amendments to the civil affairs regulation are “pertaining to exempted age cases and groups including the age group from 10 to 14 years and some illness cases,” the service said.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has eased restrictions on women’s attires in public amid a drive for their empowerment and engagement in the labour market as part of dramatic socio-economic reforms.