#saverahaf

I have never made a post like this in my life but I just found out about this and it's unbelievable that no one is talking about this enough.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun is a 18 years old Saudi woman who is trying to escape her abusive family and assert her independence. She had planned to seek asylum in Australia, so while she was in a family trip in Kuwait, she got on a plane to Bangkok.

A man who was waiting for her at Bangkok took her passport and disappeared. Her family has filled a missing person file and she is being forced to return to Kuwait by monday morning.

She's in a hotel room fearing for her life, she's been death threatened by her family.

She has barricaded herself inside of the hotel room, but her friends are saying that she is being dragged out of her room right now. If we don't do enough she will be killed

We don't know what to do to help her... I can only make a post about it

This is her change.org http://chng.it/xhHysbBD

Please tweet too tagging it as #SaveRahaf

❤️ Rahaf escaped Saudi Arabia’s patriarchal system — more oppressive under #MBS #Khashoggi

Being physically and psychologically abused is criminal. Being locked in your room for SIX MONTHS because you cut your hair too short is medieval. Reach out for help #Save....

👏👏👏 🇨🇦 Thanks Canada. 

This is one of the reasons why Canada is the only “full democracy” in the West. The US was downgraded from a "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy" in 2017 because of Trump.

Why she fled from her family and Saudi Arabia?

“I don’t have rights in Saudi Arabia”, Rahaf

Renunciation of Islam is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.

Under Saudi Arabia's "male guardianship system", a Saudi woman is required to obtain a male relative's approval to apply for a passport, travel outside the country, study abroad on a government scholarship, get married, leave prison, or even exit a shelter for abuse victims.

Ms Qunun told the BBC: "I shared my story and my pictures on social media and my father is so angry because I did this... I can't study and work in my country, so I want to be free and study and work as I want."

She also said she was afraid her family would kill her.

Separately, she told AFP she had suffered physical and psychological abuse from her family, including being locked in her room for six months for cutting her hair.

On Friday, Ms Qunun wrote on Twitter that she had "some good news and some bad news", before deleting her account. Her friends said she had received death threats online.

Why Saudi Women Are Literally Living ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, Mona Eltahawy - NYTimes May 24, 2017

Her Social Media campaign #SaveRahaf

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, had been trying to reach Australia via Bangkok, but was initially told to return to Kuwait, where her family were waiting.

She refused to fly back and barricaded herself into her airport hotel room, attracting international attention.

she kept up her barrage, live tweeting every minute of her ordeal and putting out videos that showed everything that was happening to her at the airport. Over the course of Sunday, her posts became more and more fevered.

The fear and desperation she conveyed through the tweets drew sympathy and support from the Twitter community.

Tweets carrying the #SaveRahaf hashtag continued to gain momentum and by mid-Sunday afternoon, it was in more than half a million tweets, according to Twitter.

An unknown teenager from Saudi Arabia that no-one had ever heard of had gone from 24 followers to more than 27,000 in the span of less than 24 hours.

Her Twitter account  @rahaf84427714 is now at 173,000+ followers

Rahaf al-Qunun: Unpicking the tweets that may have saved her life, BBC

Canada to the Rescue

When Thailand threaten to deport Rahaf, Canada helped pressure Thailand to protect her according to Human Rights Watch.

prompting this change

“Thailand is a land of smiles. We will not send someone back to die,” Thailand immigration chief, Major Generak Surachate Hakparn

"Canada has been unequivocal that we will always stand up for human rights and women's rights around the world. When the UN made a request of us that we grant Ms al-Qunun asylum, we accepted.",  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Canada didn’t give in or sell out like Trump “Individual-1″

Canada has previously angered Saudi Arabia after calling for the release of detained women's rights activists in the country - prompting Riyadh to expel Canada's ambassador and freeze all new trade.

Saudi Arabia’s Response

Her online campaign was so successful that Saudi chargé d'affaires Abdalelah Mohammed A. al-Shuaibi told Thai officials through a translator:

"We wish they had confiscated her phone instead of her passport."

#SaveRahaf: Saudi teen's successful online campaign

HELLO, please listen,

A bit of a long shot, but I worry for this girl. https://twitter.com/rahaf84427714

Essentially, a girl in SA has been detained (although, I think the UN is working with her now) at the Thailand airport after trying to seek asylum from her abusive family. Her own cousin has threatened to kill her: https://twitter.com/rahaf84427714/status/1082070444402982913?fbclid=IwAR3zYRmKsm0oMwivn-t99TCayv-TQ0wlJMMpErWAUVejjy6fKB0YQobjbw4

She is in danger still, so close people to her have been tasked to run her twitter in case something bad happens or she disappear, hopefully all is still going okay: https://twitter.com/rahaf84427714/status/1082105571418038273

Why I making this post is due to see if anyone, Australia or otherwise may keep her safety, or maybe figure a way to monitor her. People are a bit concerned at this time, due to speculation she will be forced to a late flight back to Saudi Arabia. This happens with many girls who wish to run away, and later they are killed I have zero doubt something bad will happen to her of not given the proper help. I'm not sure how people here may help, but online has proved powerful before.

New Post has been published on https://www.chiangraitimes.com/saudi-teen-rahaf-mohammed-al-qunun-vows-to-fight-for-other-women.html

Saudi Teen Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun Vows to Fight for Other Women

  TORONTO – A Saudi teen who caused an international sensation by defying her family and seeking asylum after arriving in Thailand, has vowed to fight for women’s freedoms in her first public address since she was taken in by Canada.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun captured the world’s attention with a trail of tweets from her hotel room at Bangkok’s airport, where she holed up after Thai authorities initially barred her from travelling on to Australia.

Her emotional social media posts ignited a #SaveRahaf movement as she fled what she said was physical and psychological abuse from her family in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia — and prompted quick action.

She was granted refugee status and was welcomed by Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland after landing in Toronto on Saturday.

“Today and for years to come, I will work in support of freedom for women around the world, the same freedom that I experienced on the first day I arrived in Canada,” she told a press conference, reading from a prepared statement in Arabic.

Standing in front of a large Canadian flag at the Toronto offices of refugee resettling agency Costi, Qunun denounced Saudi Arabia’s strict male guardianship rules, saying: “I am one of the lucky ones.”

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has denounced the strict male guardianship rules of her homeland, saying she was not respected by her family – Photo Cole Burston, AFP

“I know there are unlucky women that disappeared after escaping and could not do anything to change their reality,” she said through a translator.

Her family has denied the abuse allegations.

Reflecting on her own experience, she said: “I was not treated respectfully by my family and not allowed to be myself and who I want to be.”

“In Saudi Arabia, this is the case for all Saudi women except for those that have understanding parents. They can’t be independent and need approval of their male guardian for everything.”

Rights groups have said she has renounced Islam, risking prosecution in her home country.

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun (R) is seen here arriving at Pearson International airport in Toronto on January 12, 2019 — to her left is Saba Abbas from COSTI immigrant services.

Making Her Own Decisions

Upon learning of Canada’s asylum offer, Qunun said her stress “melted away.”

Now, she said, she can make her “own decisions,” including about travel and marriage.

“I would like to start living a normal life, like any young woman living in Canada,” she said.

Shortly after her arrival in Toronto, Qunun went shopping for some warm clothes and connected with local acquaintances.

Costi executive director Mario Calla said the agency is helping her find long-term accommodations, open a bank account, obtain Canadian documents, and enroll in English classes, as well as showing her how to get around and teaching her “about life in Canada.”

He noted concerns about her safety, citing online threats and saying guards have been posted at her temporary home.

“She feels safe because she knows she is in a safe country. The people (here) have her best interest at heart and are trying to help her. She has seen the outpouring of support,” Calla said.

Qunun has admitted that threats posted on social media “scare her,” he added.

When she reads those posts, “her emotions go back and forth.”

On Monday, Qunun told public broadcaster CBC of her family: “My greatest fear is if they find me, I would disappear and I wouldn’t know what would happen to me after that.”

She said that at home, she was “exposed to physical violence, persecution, oppression, threats to be killed. I was locked in for six months.”

“I felt that I could not achieve my dreams that I wanted as long as I was still living in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

But in Canada, Qunun said, she has felt “reborn, especially when I felt the love and the welcome.”

“Tell Canadians that I love them,” she said.