JEDDAH – A Saudi woman was refused accommodation at a furnished apartment complex in Jeddah because a male guardian was not residing with her. The woman, in her 40s, said she was in Jeddah on holiday and was trying to rent a room at a furnished apartment but her request was initially denied because she did not have a male guardian with her, Al-Watan daily reported. "I came to Jeddah with my two children, elderly mother, sister-in-law and her two children and my sister and her two children. I contacted a service for renting a furnished apartment and I had my ID with me to complete the necessary procedures. But I was shocked when the receptionist told me that I am not allowed to rent a room without a male guardian," said the woman. She showed the receptionist her family ID but he refused to let her rent at the property. When she called her nephew, who lives in Jeddah, to appear as her guardian, the receptionist told her a male guardian must be residing with her in the apartment. "I called my nephew who was in Jeddah and asked him to come to where we were with his family ID to prove that we have a guardian with us. He came and signed as our guardian and then left. The receptionist still refused to rent us a room saying there must be a guardian residing with us in the apartment," said the woman. When she told the receptionist that there is no law stating that women need a guardian to rent a room, he still insisted saying he was merely following the orders of the institution's owner. "We were left stranded at the reception well into the night without any accommodation. I explained to the receptionists that there are laws in place to protect women and leaving women stranded is a bigger risk than letting them rent a place without a guardian but they refused to listen," said the woman. A source from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage said the Tourism Charter does not state that women must have a male guardian present in order to rent a room at a tourist residence facility. Tourist facilities include hotels, rental apartments and other registered and licensed residences. "Preventing a woman from booking a room at any of these establishments due to the fact that she will not be residing with a guardian is a violation of the charter. The only requirement for men and women is that they have to present documents to prove their identities. The law applies to both Saudis and non-Saudis," said the source. The source also outlined what procedures are to be followed in the event a woman does not have an ID. "Women without IDs such as the elderly or a maid who is not residing with her legal sponsor, may also book rooms by having another person with an ID fill in the information required on their behalf. They must indicate that they are booking a room on behalf of the client in question. National IDs, residence permits and passports are the documents accepted as IDs," said the source. The source also said members of the public are welcome to lodge a complaint if they feel that their rights have been violated by a tourist establishment. "The commission takes customers' complaints seriously and will respond by sending an investigation team to verify the complaint. If the commission recorded a violation, the establishment will face fines of over SR50,000 depending on the previous history of the establishment," said the source.
