Johannesburg - Is a picture really worth a thousand words?
This is the question a Cape Town woman asked when she collected her new passport at a bank in the city. Much to her dismay, the woman, who does not want to be identified, found that her curls had been photoshopped by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and she was given a straight hairstyle.
When asked about the alteration, the bank official told her all her curls could not fit into the passport photo and DHA had to change her hairstyle.
In a Facebook post, the woman wrote: “Went to collect my passport at the bank (after a totally pain-free) process. When the guy handed me my passport obviously the first thing I did was turn to the photo page. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate photos, especially posed photos, which this was. I absolutely screeched. The guy looked petrified. Whaaaat? He asked. I told him to look at the photo. He shrugged. And? I said that is NOT my hair. I have loads of curly hair (it was one of those crazy hair days as well). In this photo my hair was STRAIGHT. Omggggg. My husband came over and burst out laughing. The aunty in the back said my hair could not fit in the picture so they ‘straightened’ it. I looked for the candid camera. No, they were serious. He said it looks like it was flat ironed. I can’t. I now have a passport with a ugly photo in it of me with unheard of, unseen, flat ironed hair. My husband needs to collect his passport next week. We are looking forward to seeing how they changed his look. The feedback I got after my post regarding the wonderful (NOT) photo in my new SA passport was unbelievable. I was inundated with requests of ‘send me a picture of the photo’. From friends, family, people who I never hear from, journalists from radio stations and newspapers. Goodness And my answer was always the same ‘Ummmmm NO’. I was told I am vain. Also that I have a responsibility to stop this from happening to others?”
Renowned criminal defence advocate William Booth said a passport picture had to be a true and correct reflection of the person.
“There is so much corruption in SA and this is why the UK has issues with SA passports. You cannot change a person’s features. The likeness has to be authentic,” he said.
Booth added that it was not just the altered picture that posed a problem: it could also impact one’s travelling plans.
“You can be refused entry into a country that has strict custom controls. It will affect you when you pay for hotel accommodation. Rome and New York airports, for example, are very strict and you could find yourself sent back because the image in your passport is not a true reflection of you,” he said.
Booth added with cybercrime on the rise and people’s images used in scams, he was at pains to understand why DHA would alter the woman’s likeness.
Another attorney said he believed the altering of pictures by a government department was an infringement of a person’s constitutional right.
“This is an affront to the person’s dignity. I have heard that it’s their new facial recognition technology and the hair interferes with it. They changed her hair because it’s the only way the system can identify the person in the pic,” he said.
Updating her fans on the passport picture drama, the woman wrote:
“From what I understand your hairstyle on your passport (and I assume ID) makes no difference. Biometrics are biological measurements – or physical characteristics ‒ that can be used to identify individuals. ‒ google. So the hairstyle makes no difference. We all change our hairstyles often, sometimes drastically and the passport is valid for 10 years. It makes sense that your hairstyle is not really the important part of the picture but still, who wants to walk around with an ugly passport photo? I think the problem is with the program that processes the photo. It sees a ‘messy’ area in the pic instead of a solid area and changes it to solid. I think. Anyway I will live with it for now. My EU passport is prettier. The lady allowed me to wear my gold hoop earrings and smile (show some teeth she said).”
A document sourcing company told Independent Media that they have had many complaints from clients about pictures being changed.
“They (DHA) do it all the time. It’s not legal,” an anonymous source said.
Siyabulela Qoza, spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said the Department only enhances images to meet the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
"The passport holder is invited to share with the Department her current picture and the image on her passport to check what happened in this instance."