Fathers who fail to obtain essential documents such as identity cards and birth certificates for their children may be liable under a proposed law to prison and fines. According to Al-Riyadh daily Thursday, Shareefa Al-Shamlan of the Women's Department at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) said that the organization was currently working with the Ministry of Justice to draw up a law which could see fathers punished with up to six months in prison and fines. Al-Shamlan added that the HRC Women's Department had the authority to enroll children who have no identity documents in government schools on the provision that mothers produce witnesses from their areas of residence confirming the identity of their children.
