A very brave new Canadian’: Woman who fled Saudi Arabia arrives in Toronto
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A young Saudi woman who fled her allegedly abusive family, drawing renewed attention to the plight of women in the conservative kingdom, has arrived in Toronto. Rahaf Al-Qunun , 18, arrived at Pearson International Airport on Saturday morning on a flight from the South Korean capital Seoul, having left Bangkok on Friday night. Al-Qunun emerged at the arrivals gate with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who introduced her as “a very brave new Canadian.” Freeland said Al-Qunun was tired from her ordeal and a long journey, and won’t be making public comment at this time. “She’s very, very happy to be in her new home although she did comment to me about the cold,” Freeland said. “I told her it does get warmer.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said Friday that Canada had accepted a request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to grant Al-Qunun asylum. “Canada is a country that understands how important it is to stand up for human rights, to stand up for women’s rights around the world, and I can confirm that we have accepted the UN’s request,” he said.
Al-Qunun drew international attention to her case last weekend after she launched a Twitter campaign from an airport hotel room in Bangkok, where she said she was unlawfully detained at the behest of Saudi authorities who sought to prevent her from traveling to Australia. “I’m in real danger because the Saudi embassy trying to forcing [sic] me to go back to Saudi Arabia, while I’m at the airport waiting for my second flight,” she said in one of her first tweets.
On Sunday, Jan. 6, she told Global News that Saudi embassy officials seized her passport and told her she would be put on a plane to Kuwait, where her family was waiting for her. In a series of Twitter messages, Al-Qunun told Global News that she was trying to escape her family, who abused her physically and psychologically, at one point locking her up in a room for six months after she cut her hair. She said she feared being killed by her family after publicly renouncing Islam — “And that itself is like a crime in Saudi.” “I’m sure 100 per cent they will KILL me,” she said. She added that her family told Saudi authorities she was mentally ill in a bid to have her forcibly returned.
The hashtag #SaveRahaf soon began trending on Twitter, spread by a network of activists including several in Canada.
Saudi authorities denied Al-Qunun’s claims of abuse, with the country’s ambassador to Thailand telling Saudi media that Al-Qunun had been arrested for violating Thai laws. Abdul-Ilah al-Shuaibi said Al-Qunun had several sisters, and it seemed “impossible” that only one of the sisters would be abused to the point of fleeing.
However, on Monday, Thailand granted her temporary access to the country under the protection of the UN refugee agency, which evaluated her asylum claim and granted her refugee status. Human Rights Watch said at the time that Canada played a central role in persuading the Thai government to allow Al-Qunun to seek asylum rather than deport her to Saudi Arabia. Phil Robertson, the NGO’s deputy director for the Asia region, told Global News that Canada “should be proud” of its role in protecting her rights. “Ambassador Donica Pottie and her team worked long and hard on both Sunday and Monday to raise their concerns with the Thai government and UN agencies that Rahaf should not be sent back to Saudi Arabia where she would likely face serious abuses and persecution,” he said. “The advocacy they did, working with other like-minded embassies in Bangkok, was critical in making the case that UNHCR had to be brought in to provide Rahaf with protection. “It was a team effort between embassies, human rights and refugee support NGOs, media, and online activists, and Canada should be proud of the central role they played in this victory.”
Although Al-Qunun initially said she wanted to seek asylum in Australia, it became evident in the past week that Canada represented her quickest path to freedom. Her father and brother arrived in Bangkok late last week to try and take her back to Saudi Arabia, but their efforts were in vain as Al-Qunun refused to meet them. “It was her wish to go to Canada,” Thailand’s immigration chief told reporters on Friday. “She still refuses to meet with her father and brother, and they are going to be traveling back tonight… They are disappointed.”
Al-Qunun’s arrival in Canada is likely to exacerbate Canada’s already testy relationship with Saudi Arabia. The two countries became embroiled in a diplomatic spat last year following Ottawa’s criticism of the detention of women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expelled Canada’s ambassador, while the kingdom also sold off Canadian investments and recalled its students from Canadian universities.
However, Trudeau and Freeland appeared unfazed, saying Canada would always stand up for human rights around the world. “Canada believes strongly that women’s rights are human rights,” Freeland said on Saturday after introducing Al-Qunun. “It is absolutely the case that there are far too many women who are in dangerous situations both in Canada and around the world. For a single woman or girl to be in a dangerous situation is one too many,” she said.
Freeland reiterated that Canada was not perfect itself when it came to protecting women. “I want to emphasize that we as Canadians should not be complacent. There are women and girls in Canada — right this minute — who are in dangerous situations and we have a responsibility to them as well.”
Human Rights Watch hailed Al-Qunun’s safe arrival in Canada as an example of “what can happen when one determined young woman with a Twitter account meets a global network of human rights activists.” In a blog post , the NGO’s senior Asia researcher Sunai Phasuk recounted Al-Qunun’s story and praised Canada for “cutting through red tape” to grant her asylum.
“She made it with courage and perseverance, aided by newfound friends around the world. This is a victory for everyone who cares about women’s rights, values youth boldly seeking change, and demands that governments operate in light and not darkness,” Phasuk wrote.
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While I think Canada did the right thing in this circumstance, this is unlikely to lead to any improvement in our relations with Saudi Arabia which went bad about a year ago.
Good luck to this young lady and I hope she's prepared to become something of a political football.
Morning Free..My gut feeling is there is more to this story than she is saying....I am glad she has gone to Canada and we were taking our time to review her case..and she decided to go there...If we accepted her straight off, then our government would be critised here for not doing proper checks...if we are to slow they are critised for taking their time...So you can't win..I really hope she has not done this as a rebellious teenager and then regret it...It will be a very different world for her now and one she faces without her family..no matter how badly she thinks of them....Thought it was odd she picked to come here, when there are other countries far closer to Kuwait where she was at the time...Plus why did she stop over in Thailand when she could have easily got a direct flight to here???..She already had an Australian visa...Time will tell and it is a decision she will now have to live with and so be it...Once all the media attention dies off and the novelty has worn off the world can be a very lonely place...I wish her well and I hope it all turns out the way she envisioned....
Hi Shona, I agree there are inconsistencies in the various stories and if the media stays interested more to follow.
Certainly a possibility and given the rejection of Islam and clothes she was wearing on arrival there is definitely some rebellion going on there.
Lmao yes given it's the depths of winter here a much colder one (both literally and figuratively). Who knows she may yet end up in Australia, I know given a choice that's where I'd be right now.
Australia does have a excellent reputation in the world plus a similar climate or maybe it was just random, who knows
As do I whichever way it goes.
A/noon...To be honest I would have picked Canada for one reason only..it has a bigger population in which to hide, than here...I have a feeling the Saudi's will not let this go lightly...Would not surprise me if they try and get her and smuggle her back out of the country...They don't like to be critised or shown up in any way or form...and that is exactly what she has done...As I said I wish her well and hope it works out etc but if I was her, I would be sleeping with one eye open....
"Sleeping with one eye open."
Yes. The overly religious can be dangerous.
Lol thanks I did not know that, woulda figured the opposite was true. Although truthfully our population tend to be concentrated in a narrow band within a 100kms of our southern border, north of that is pretty sparsely populated (probably similar to the Australian interior)
I do hope they let it go but like you I'm doubtful, bear in mind Canada is also using her as a political tool which is not helping the girl either.
Women and people in general should deny religion their time and money.
Maybe one day, probably far in the future.