A step forward to equality
Saudi Arabia’s rules are being questioned by human rights activists around the world, it won’t be the first time this happens, but it can be one of the last few.
Rahaf Al-Qunun’s story will be a turn point for the middle-east, as many women in that part of the world are still being oppressed, it has been brought to people’s attention that maybe now is a good time for Saudi Arabia to fix some of their laws.
Human rights and women’s rights are a common political subject in the 2019 era, but still there are cases like Al-Qunun’s that make you wonder why some countries (Saudi Arabia) lack some basic human rights towards the women in those societies.
Al-Qunun is an 18-year-old Saudi woman who managed to use social media to help her escape the abuse of her family.
On twitter, Al-Qunun talks about her father and brother abusing her for taking off her hair cover (Which she is required to wear by law) she also talks about her brother locking her in her room for days because she cut her hair short. Al-Qunun also talks about her family’s ability to stop her from marrying the person she wants, controlling her beliefs and her life, which is the case to many Saudi women.
During her escape, Al-Qunun renounced Islam, making her sure that her family WILL kill her if she went back to Saudi Arabia. Her case didn’t ease up as her family started threatening her publicly on twitter. Al-Qunun retweeted her cousin’s threatening tweet to slaughter her.
The United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recognized the danger Al-Qunun is in and immediately started studying her case. Not long after, Canada accepted to take Al-Qunun as a refugee.
Al-Qunun resides in Toronto away from danger starting from Jan. 11. Meanwhile in the middle-east people are saying that she is lying for “rebellious” reasons because “how can she be oppressed if she was holidaying in Kuwait with her family?”
Because travelling makes up for not being able to control your life right? Yes Saudi women can travel, but not without a male-guardian’s permission. Yes they can work but only as long as their male guardian approves. Yes they can drive (as of 2018) but not without the government making sure that their whole experience is a living hell. So to answer the question no, travelling doesn’t change the fact that someone is oppressed.
The Saudi government did not do a good job at dealing with this situation, while Al-Qunun was barricaded at the hotel room, the Saudi embassy was working with the Thai embassy against Al-Qunun.
They lied to her about getting her visa to Australia (where she was heading) and took her passport from her. They also kept trying to get inside her room to get her on the next flight back to Kuwait.
So when someone like Reem Daffa, vice president and executive director of Saudi American Public Relations Affair Committee (SAPRAC), says that Al-Qunun is just in danger from her family and not the government, I look back at how Saudi Arabia dealt with other similar cases like Dina Ali Lasloom, another Saudi citizen who ran away seeking asylum.
In an interview with TRT World news, Daffa says the Saudi government would be “The number one entity to protect her within the kingdom,” and that because she is an 18-year-old teen she doesn’t know a lot about her religion and because of that “No judicial system will take her seriously.” Daffa also did not deny that under Saudi Arabia laws, anyone who renounces Islam will be sentenced to death. How does this not show the danger and the unfairness of the Saudi government?
Also if the government is actually working on improving their equality movement like they claim, why are activist like Loujain al-Hathloul getting arrested and tortured/harassed in jail?
Saudi Arabia keeps screwing up in terms of human rights and people are getting sick of it. The previous generations might have kept their mouths shut and lived bravely through the struggles, but today’s generation is fed up, that is why we are seeing more empowering movements like the #MeToo movement.
Many women will follow Al-Qunun and Lasloom’s path and fight for their rights, it is just a matter of when. In the meantime, activists around the world must work together to help ease the process to the rest of the oppressed female population.
The first step to change is separating religion from politics, because in Saudi Arabia’s case this is the main reason women are oppressed. Today’s world is so much different from the religious times, and just like the world evolved and changed, some rules should change with it.
No one should live with the fear of not knowing what to expect for the future, women should be able to make their own decisions and be able to presume their dreams without being under the mercy of male guardians.
“It is wrong to make anyone feel belittled, unsafe, harassed or assaulted,” says Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau in a town hall meeting in St. Catharines on Tuesday, Jan. 15.