News / Saudi Arabia

Saudi teen Rahaf al-Qunun demands social disobedience in kingdom

Friday, 25 January 2019 1:48 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 25 January 2019 7:22 PM ]

The file photo shows Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, addressing the media during a press conference in Toronto, Canada, at the offices of COSTI, a refugee resettling agency, on January 15, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, who was granted asylum in Canada earlier this month, has called for social disobedience in the oil-rich conservative kingdom in the wake of a widening crackdown against Muslim preachers and intellectuals as well as flagrant violation of human rights there.

Qunun took to Twitter on Friday to demand such an action, Arabic-language New al-Khalij news website reported.

"When injustice becomes a law, resistance becomes a duty," she wrote.

The 18-year-old fled to Thailand while visiting Kuwait with her family in early January.

Her case grabbed international attention on social media after she barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to resist being sent home to her family.

This handout picture taken and released by the Thai Immigration Bureau on January 7, 2019 shows 18-year-old Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun (2nd L) being escorted by a Thai immigration officer and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials at Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok, Thailand.

Qunun told Canada's CBC News network and the Toronto Star daily newspaper on January 14 that she was beaten up for not praying and locked in the house for six months for cutting her hair short.

"I was exposed to physical violence, persecution, oppression, threats to be killed," she said.

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

“It's daily oppression. We are treated as an object, like a slave. We could not make decisions about what we want,” the Saudi teenager pointed out.

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Tensions over human rights issues escalate between Riyadh and Ottawa as Saudi Arabia targets bilateral educational exchanges after severing ties with Canada.

Qunun landed in Canada on January 12, and was welcomed by the North American country’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland at Toronto's airport. "This is a very brave new Canadian," Freeland told reporters.

Asylum seeker Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, center, smiles as she is introduced to the media at Toronto Pearson International Airport, alongside Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, right, on January 12, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Canada had accepted a request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to take in the Saudi teenager.

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Canada has once again expressed concern over human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia severed its diplomatic relations with Canada last year, and barred the Canadian ambassador to Riyadh after Ottawa criticized Saudi authorities for detaining female activists and the kingdom’s human rights record.

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